Mucins reprogram stemness, metabolism and promote chemoresistance during cancer progression

MUC1 promotes cervical squamous cell carcinoma through ERK phosphorylation-mediated regulation of ITGA2/ITGA3

In contrast to the decreasing trends in developed countries, the incidence and mortality rates of cervical squamous cell carcinoma in China have increased significantly. The screening and identification of reliable biomarkers and candidate drug targets for cervical squamous cell carcinoma are urgently needed to improve the survival rate and quality of life of patients. In this study, we demonstrated that the expression of MUC1 was greater in neoplastic tissues than in non-neoplastic tissues of the cervix, and cervical squamous cell carcinoma patients with high MUC1 expression had significantly worse overall survival than did those with low MUC1 expression, indicating its potential for early diagnosis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Next, we explored the regulatory mechanism of MUC1 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma. MUC1 could upregulate ITGA2 and ITGA3 expression via ERK phosphorylation, promoting the proliferation and metastasis of cervical cancer cells. Further knockdown of ITGA2 and ITGA3 significantly inhibited the tumorigenesis of cervical cancer cells. Moreover, we designed a combination drug regimen comprising MUC1-siRNA and a novel ERK inhibitor in vivo and found that the combination of these drugs achieved better results in animals with xenografts than did MUC1 alone. Overall, we discovered a novel regulatory pathway, MUC1/ERK/ITGA2/3, in cervical squamous cell carcinoma that may serve as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target in the future.

Deciphering cellular and molecular mechanism of MUC13 mucin involved in cancer cell plasticity and drug resistance

There has been a surge of interest in recent years in understanding the intricate mechanisms underlying cancer progression and treatment resistance. One molecule that has recently emerged in these mechanisms is MUC13 mucin, a transmembrane glycoprotein. Researchers have begun to unravel the molecular complexity of MUC13 and its impact on cancer biology. Studies have shown that MUC13 overexpression can disrupt normal cellular polarity, leading to the acquisition of malignant traits. Furthermore, MUC13 has been associated with increased cancer plasticity, allowing cells to undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasize. Notably, MUC13 has also been implicated in the development of chemoresistance, rendering cancer cells less responsive to traditional treatment options. Understanding the precise role of MUC13 in cellular plasticity, and chemoresistance could pave the way for the development of targeted therapies to combat cancer progression and enhance treatment efficacy.

Clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of colorectal mucinous adenocarcinoma: a retrospective analysis from China

Background

Mucinous adenocarcinoma (MAC) is a unique subtype of colorectal cancer and its prognostic value remains controversial. This study aimed to compare the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic differences between patients with MAC and non-mucinous adenocarcinoma (NMAC).

Methods

674 patients with NMAC, 110 patients with adenocarcinoma with mucinous component (ACWM) and 77 patients with MAC between 2016-2019 were enrolled in the study. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression were performed to analyze the factors associated with prognosis. Predictive nomograms of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) for patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma were constructed. Confounding factors were eliminated by propensity score matching (PSM).

Results

Compared with patients with NMAC, patients with MAC were more likely to have a tumor located at the proximal colon, present with a larger tumor diameter, more advanced T stage, higher frequency of metastasis, deficiency of mismatch repair, and elevated preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen. Patients with MAC were related to worse OS (HR=2.53, 95%CI 1.73-3.68, p<0.01) and CSS (HR=3.09, 95%CI 2.10-4.57, p<0.01), which persisted after PSM. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that patients with left-sided or stage III/IV MAC exhibited a comparatively worse OS and CSS than those with NMAC. Furthermore, in patients with stage II with a high-risk factor and stage III MAC, adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with an improved OS, CSS, and RFS.

Conclusion

Compared with the NMAC phenotype, the MAC phenotype was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in colorectal adenocarcinoma with worse OS and CSS, particularly patients with left-sided colorectal cancer and stage III/IV. However, patients with MAC can still benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.

Talniflumate abrogates mucin immune suppressive barrier improving efficacy of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel treatment in pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal disease. This is due to its aggressive course, late diagnosis and its intrinsic drugs resistance. The complexity of the tumor, in terms of cell components and heterogeneity, has led to the approval of few therapies with limited efficacy. The study of the early stages of carcinogenesis provides the opportunity for the identification of actionable pathways that underpin therapeutic resistance.

METHODS

We analyzed 43 Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) (12 Low-grade and 31 High-grade) by Spatial Transcriptomics. Mouse and human pancreatic cancer organoids and T cells interaction platforms were established to test the role of mucins expression on T cells activity. Syngeneic mouse model of PDAC was used to explore the impact of mucins downregulation on standard therapy efficacy.

RESULTS

Spatial transcriptomics showed that mucin O-glycosylation pathway is increased in the progression from low-grade to high-grade IPMN. We identified GCNT3, a master regulator of mucins expression, as an actionable target of this pathway by talniflumate. We showed that talniflumate impaired mucins expression increasing T cell activation and recognition using both mouse and human organoid interaction platforms. In vivo experiments showed that talniflumate was able to increase the efficacy of the chemotherapy by boosting immune infiltration.

CONCLUSIONS

Finally, we demonstrated that combination of talniflumate, an anti-inflammatory drug, with chemotherapy effectively improves anti-tumor effect in PDAC.

Defining a role for systemic chemotherapy in local and advanced appendix adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Appendix adenocarcinomas (AAs) are rare tumours that often present late, with a propensity for peritoneal metastases (PMs). This study aimed to evaluate outcomes of AA patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with curative intent and determine the role of systemic chemotherapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were collected from a prospective database and classified according to World Health Organization (WHO) 2019 classification. Tumour clearance from CRS was described using a completeness of cytoreduction (CC) score ranging from 0 [no residual disease (RD)] to 3 (>2.5 cm RD). Patients with CC0-2 CRS received hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Systemic chemotherapy was categorised as 'prior' (>6 months before), 'neoadjuvant' (<6 months before), 'adjuvant' (<6 months after CC0-1 CRS) or 'palliative' (after CC2-3 CRS). Analyses used Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression methods.

RESULTS

Between January 2005 and August 2021, 216 AA patients were identified for inclusion. Median age was 59 years (21-81 years). CRS/HIPEC was carried out in 182 (84%) patients, of whom 164/182 (76%) had mitomycin C HIPEC. CC0-1 was achieved in 172 (80%) patients. Systemic chemotherapy was given to 97 (45%) patients from the whole cohort and to 37/46 (80%) patients with positive nodes. Median overall survival (OS) was 122 months (95% confidence interval 61-182 months). After multivariate analysis, patients with acellular and lower-grade PM had similar OS to those with localised (M0) disease (P = 0.59 and P = 0.19). For patients with positive nodes, systemic chemotherapy was associated with reduced risk of death compared to no chemotherapy (P < 0.0019).

CONCLUSION

This study identifies AA patients with positive lymph nodes derive the most benefit from systemic chemotherapy. We confirm the prognostic importance of stage and peritoneal grade, with excellent outcomes in patients with acellular mucin and lower-grade PM.

Association of CDX2 and mucin expression with chemotherapeutic benefits in patients with stage II/III gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

Better predictors of patients with stage II/III gastric cancer (GC) most likely to benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy are urgently needed. This study aimed to assess the ability of CDX2 and mucin markers to predict prognosis and fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy benefits.

METHODS

CDX2 and mucin protein expressions were examined by immunohistochemistry and compared with survival and adjuvant chemotherapy benefits in a prospective evaluation cohort of 782 stage II/III GC patients. Then, the main findings were validated in an independent validation cohort (n = 386) and an external mRNA sequencing dataset (ACRG cohort, n = 193).

RESULTS

In the evaluation cohort, CDX2, CD10, MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6 expressions were observed in 59.7%, 26.7%, 27.6%, 55.1%, and 57.7% of patients, respectively. However, only the expression of CDX2 was found to be associated with adjuvant chemotherapy benefits. Most importantly, CDX2-negative patients had a poorer prognosis when treated with surgery only, while the prognosis of CDX2-negative and CDX2-positive patients was similar when receiving postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. Further analysis revealed that patients with CDX2 negative tumors benefited from chemotherapy (5-year overall survival rates: 60.0% with chemotherapy vs. 23.2% with surgery-only, p < 0.001), whereas patients with CDX2 positive tumors did not (pinteraction  = 0.004). Consistent results were obtained in the validation and ACRG cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

Negative expression of CDX2 is an independent risk factor for survival in stage II/III GC, but subsequent adjuvant chemotherapy is able to compensate for this unfavorable effect. Therefore, active chemotherapy is more urgent for patients with negative CDX2 expression than for patients with positive CDX2 expression.

Altered Glycosylation in Progression and Management of Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer (BC) is the 10th most common malignancy worldwide, with an estimated 573,000 new cases and 213,000 deaths in 2020. Available therapeutic approaches are still unable to reduce the incidence of BC metastasis and the high mortality rates of BC patients. Therefore, there is a need to deepen our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying BC progression to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic tools. One such mechanism is protein glycosylation. Numerous studies reported changes in glycan biosynthesis during neoplastic transformation, resulting in the appearance of the so-called tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) on the cell surface. TACAs affect a wide range of key biological processes, including tumor cell survival and proliferation, invasion and metastasis, induction of chronic inflammation, angiogenesis, immune evasion, and insensitivity to apoptosis. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current information on how altered glycosylation of bladder cancer cells promotes disease progression and to present the potential use of glycans for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Whole-exome mutational landscape and molecular marker study in mucinous and clear cell ovarian cancer cell lines 3AO and ES2

BACKGROUND

Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal cancers in women because it is often diagnosed at an advanced stage. The molecular markers investigated thus far have been unsatisfactory.

METHODS

We performed whole-exome sequencing on the human ovarian cancer cell lines 3AO and ES2 and the normal ovarian epithelial cell line IOSE-80. Molecular markers of ovarian cancer were screened from shared mutation genes and copy number variation genes in the 6q21-qter region.

RESULTS

We found that missense mutations were the most common mutations in the gene (93%). The MUC12, FLG and MUC16 genes were highly mutated in 3AO and ES2 cells. Copy number amplification occurred mainly in 4p16.1 and 11q14.3, and copy number deletions occurred in 4q34.3 and 18p11.21. A total of 23 hub genes were screened, of which 16 were closely related to the survival of ovarian cancer patients. The three genes CCDC170, THBS2 and COL14A1 are most significantly correlated with the survival and prognosis of ovarian cancer. In particular, the overall survival of ovarian cancer patients with high CCDC170 gene expression was significantly prolonged (P < 0.001). The expression of CCDC170 in normal tissues was significantly higher than that in ovarian cancer tissues (P < 0.05), and its expression was significantly decreased in advanced ovarian cancer. Western blotting and immunofluorescence assays also showed that the expression of CCDC170 in ovarian cancer cells was significantly lower than that in normal cells (P < 0.001, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

CCDC170 is expected to become a new diagnostic molecular target and prognostic indicator for ovarian cancer patients, which can provide new ideas for the design of antitumor drugs.

Investigation of biomarkers in Endometriosis-associated infertility: Systematic Review

The relationship between endometriosis and infertility is still unknown, but it is possible that genetic polymorphisms influence these two variables. This study aims to identify, in the literature, which polymorphisms are related to infertility in women with endometriosis. A search was performed in databases using the descriptors: polymorphisms genetics and infertility and endometriosis. 386 articles were identified, and after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 33 case-control studies were included. Genes and their respective polymorphisms, which exhibited statistically significant values, were classified into three categories: related to metabolic/cellular processes, steroidogenesis and sex hormone receptors, inflammation and immune response. In summary, the results of these studies suggest that the polymorphisms rs882605 of MUC4 gene, rs16826658 of WNT4 gene, rs10953316 of MUC17 gene, rs10928050 of KAZN gene, rs1799889 of PAI-1 gene, (TA)n repeats of ESR1 gene, (CA)n repeats of ESR2 gene, rs605059 of HSD17B1 gene, rs743572 of CYP17A1 gene, insLQ of LHR gene, p.Ile49Ser of AMH gene, rs12700667 of NPVF/NFE2L3 gene, G1502A of LHβ gene, G + 1730A of ERβ gene, rs7528684 of FCRL3 gene, rs3761549 of FOXP3 gene and rs28362491 of NFKβ1 gene are implicated in the etiology of infertility in women with endometriosis.

JiangShi(僵尸): a widely distributed Mucin-like protein essential for Drosophila development

Epithelia exposed to elements of the environment are protected by a mucus barrier in mammals. This barrier also serves to lubricate during organ movements and to mediate substance exchanges between the environmental milieu and internal organs. A major component of the mucus barrier is a class of glycosylated proteins called Mucin. Mucin and mucin-related proteins are widely present in the animal kingdom. Mucin mis-regulation has been reported in many diseases such as cancers and ones involving the digestive and respiratory tracts. Although the biophysical properties of isolated Mucins have been extensively studied, in vivo models remain scarce for the study of their functions and regulations. Here, we characterize the Mucin-like JiangShi protein and its mutations in the fruit fly Drosophila. JiangShi is an extracellular glycoprotein with domain features reminiscent of mammalian nonmembranous Mucins, and one of the most widely distributed Mucin-like proteins studied in Drosophila. Both loss and over-production of JiangShi lead to terminal defects in adult structures and organismal death. Although the physiological function of JiangShi remains poorly defined, we present a genetically tractable model system for the in vivo studies of Mucin-like molecules.

CNTN-1 Upregulation Induced by Low-Dose Cisplatin Promotes Malignant Progression of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells via Activation of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

Tumor metastasis and invasion are the main impediments to lung adenocarcinoma successful treatment. Previous studies demonstrate that chemotherapeutic agents can elevate the malignancy of cancer cells other than their therapeutic effects. In this study, the effects of transient low-dose cisplatin treatment on the malignant development of lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549) were detected, and the underlying epigenetic mechanisms were investigated. The findings showed that A549 cells exhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like phenotype along with malignant progression under the transient low-dose cisplatin treatment. Meanwhile, low-dose cisplatin was found to induce contactin-1 (CNTN-1) upregulation in A549 cells. Subsequently, we found that further overexpressing CNTN-1 in A549 cells obviously activated the EMT process in vitro and in vivo, and caused malignant development of A549 cells in vitro. Taken together, we conclude that low-dose cisplatin can activate the EMT process and resulting malignant progression through upregulating CNTN-1 in A549 cells. The findings provided new evidence that a low concentration of chemotherapeutic agents could facilitate the malignancy of carcinoma cells via activating the EMT process other than their therapeutic effects.

Low Tumor Infiltrating Mast Cell Density Reveals Prognostic Benefit in Cervical Carcinoma

Objectives: Research on the role of mast cells (MCs) in cervical tumor immunity is more limited. Therefore, our study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of MCs and their correlation with the immune microenvironment of cervical carcinoma (CC). Methods: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data was utilized to obtain the degree of immune infiltration of MCs in CC. Meanwhile, this study retrospectively collected patient clinical characteristic data and tissue specimens to further verify the relevant conclusions. Mast cell density (MCD) was measured by the CIBERSORT algorithm in TCGA data and immunohistochemical staining of tryptase in CC tissues. Finally, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of TCGA data were performed using "limma" packages and key gene modules were identified using the MCODE application in Cytoscape. Results: The results showed MCs were diffusely distributed in CC tissues. Moreover, we found that low tumor-infiltrating MCD was beneficial for overall survival (OS) in the TCGA cohort. Consistent conclusions were also obtained in a clinical cohort. In addition, a total of 305 DEGs were analyzed between the high tumor-infiltrating MCD and low tumor-infiltrating MCD group. Seven key modules, a total of 34 genes, were screened through the MCODE plug-in, which was mainly related to inflammatory response and immune response and closely correlated with cytokines including CSF2, CCL20, IL1A, IL1B, and CXCL8. Conclusion: In short, high tumor-infiltration MCs in CC tissue was associated with worse OS in patients. Furthermore, MCs were closely related to cytokines in the tumor microenvironment, suggesting that they collectively played a role in the immune response of the tumor. Therefore, MCD may be a potential prognostic indicator and immunotherapy target of CC.

Integrated Analysis of Stemness-Related LncRNAs Helps Predict the Immunotherapy Responsiveness of Gastric Cancer Patients

The immune microenvironment plays a critical role in tumor biology. As a critical feature of cancers, stemness is acknowledged as a contributor to the development of drug resistance in gastric cancers (GCs). Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been revealed to participate in this process. In this study, we aimed to develop a stemness-related lncRNA signature (SRLncSig) with guiding significance for immunotherapy. Three cohorts (TCGA, Zhongshan, and IMvigor210) were enrolled for analysis. A list of stemness-related lncRNAs (SRlncRNAs) was collected by co-expression strategy under the threshold of coefficient value >0.35 and p-value < 0.05. Cox and Lasso regression analysis was further applied to find out the SRlncRNAs with prognosis-predictive value to establish the SRLncSig in the TCGA cohort. IPS and TIDE algorithms were further applied to predict the efficacy of SRLncSig in TCGA and Zhongshan cohorts. IMvigor210 was composed of patients with clinical outcomes of immunotherapy. The results indicated that SRLncSig not only was confirmed as an independent risk factor for GCs but also identified as a robust indicator for immunotherapy. The patient with a lower SRLncSig score was more likely to benefit from immunotherapy, and the results were highly consistent in three cohorts. In conclusion, our study not only could clarify the correlations between stemness and immunotherapy in GC patients but also provided a model to guide the applications of immunotherapy in clinical practice.