Reduced CD147 expression is linked to ERG fusion-positive prostate cancers but lacks substantial impact on PSA recurrence in patients treated by radical prostatectomy

WGCNA-ML-MR integration: uncovering immune-related genes in prostate cancer

Background

Prostate cancer is one of the most common tumors in men, with its incidence and mortality rates continuing to rise year by year. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most commonly used screening indicator, but its lack of specificity leads to overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Therefore, identifying new biomarkers related to prostate cancer is crucial for the early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.

Methods

This study utilized datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) to screen for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and employed Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) to identify driver genes highly associated with prostate cancer within the modules. The intersection of differentially expressed genes and driver genes was taken, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analyses were performed. Furthermore, a machine learning algorithm was used to screen for core genes and construct a diagnostic model, which was then validated in an external validation dataset. The correlation between core genes and immune cell infiltration was analyzed, and Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to identify biomarkers closely related to prostate cancer.

Results

This study identified six core biomarkers: SLC14A1, ARHGEF38, NEFH, MSMB, KRT23, and KRT15. MR analysis demonstrated that MSMB may be an important protective factor for prostate cancer. In q-PCR experiments conducted on tumor tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues from prostate cancer patients, it was found that: compared to the adjacent non-cancerous tissues, the expression level of ARHGEF38 in prostate cancer tumor tissues significantly increased, while the expression levels of SLC14A1, NEFH, MSMB, KRT23, and KRT15 significantly decreased. To further validate these findings at the protein level, we conducted Western blot analysis, which corroborated the q-PCR results, demonstrating consistent expression patterns for all six biomarkers. IHC results confirmed that ARHGEF38 protein was highly expressed in tumor tissues, while MSMB expression was markedly reduced.

Conclusion

Our study reveals that SLC14A1, ARHGEF38, NEFH, MSMB, KRT23, and KRT15 are potential diagnostic biomarkers for prostate cancer, among which MSMB may play a protective role in prostate cancer.

Immunohistochemical Detection of CD147 Expression in Adenocarcinoma of the Prostate: A Case-Control Study

Prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous malignancy among men worldwide, including in Sudan, where it represents a significant public health challenge. CD147, a transmembrane glycoprotein implicated in tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis, has shown potential as a prognostic biomarker in various cancers. This retrospective case-control study aimed to evaluate CD147 expression in prostate adenocarcinoma among Sudanese men and its association with tumor grade. A total of 80 paraffin-embedded tissue samples, including 40 cases of prostate adenocarcinoma and 40 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) controls, were analyzed using immunohistochemistry. CD147 expression was observed in 22.5% of adenocarcinoma cases compared to 7% of controls; however, the association was not statistically significant (p=0.07). Low-grade tumors were predominant in the cohort, consistent with early-stage diagnoses. The findings revealed no clear link between CD147 expression and tumor grade, diverging from prior studies that associate CD147 with advanced tumor stages. The nonsignificant results may be attributed to the small sample size, emphasizing the need for future research with larger, more diverse cohorts, advanced molecular techniques, and functional studies to better elucidate the role of CD147 in prostate cancer pathogenesis and its potential as a therapeutic target.

Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein 4 (SFRP4) Is an Independent Prognostic Marker in Prostate Cancers Lacking TMPRSS2: ERG Fusions

Secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4) controls WNT signaling and is thought to play a role for tumor aggressiveness. Here, we analyzed a tissue microarray containing 11,152 prostate cancers with pathological, clinical and molecular data by immunohistochemistry. SFRP4 expression was higher in cancer than in non-neoplastic acinar cells. SFRP4 staining was seen in 64.9% of tumors and classified as weak in 33.2%, moderate in 23.9% and strong in 7.8% of cancers. SFRP4 overexpression was linked to advanced tumor stage, high classical/quantitative Gleason grade (p < 0.0001 each), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0002), and a positive surgical margin (p = 0.0017). SFRP4 positivity was markedly more frequent in ERG positive (77.4%) than in ERG negative cancers (57.4% p < 0.0001). Subset analyses in 2725 cancers with and 3592 cancers without TMPRSS2:ERG fusion revealed that associations with tumor phenotype and patient outcome were largely driven by the subset of ERG negative tumors. In a multivariate analysis including various postoperative and prognostic clinico-pathological features, SFRP4 protein expression emerged as an independent prognostic parameter in ERG negative cancers. SFRP4 immunostaining was significantly linked with 10 of 11 previously analyzed chromosomal deletions (p < 0.05 each). In conclusion, high SFRP4 immunostaining is associated with poor prognosis and genomic instability in ERG negative prostate cancers.

Family with sequence similarity 13C (FAM13C) overexpression is an independent prognostic marker in prostate cancer

FAM13C, a gene with unknown function is included in several mRNA signatures for prostate cancer aggressiveness. To understand the impact of FAM13C on prognosis and its relationship to molecularly defined subsets, we analyzed FAM13C expression by immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray containing 12,400 prostate cancer specimens. Results were compared to phenotype, ERG status, genomic deletions of 3p, 5q, 6q and PTEN, and biochemical recurrence. FAM13C was detectable in cell nuclei of cancerous and non-neoplastic prostate cells. 67.5% of 9,633 interpretable cancers showed FAM13C expression: strong in 28.3%, moderate in 24.6% and weak in 14.6%. Strong FAM13C expression was linked to advanced pT stage, high Gleason grade, positive lymph node status, and early biochemical recurrence (p < 0.0001 each). FAM13C expression was associated with TMPRSS2:ERG fusions. It was present in 85% of ERG positive but in only 54% of ERG negative cancers (p < 0.0001), and in 91.1% of PTEN deleted but in only 69.2% of PTEN non-deleted cancers (p < 0.0001). The prognostic role of FAM13C expression was independent of classical and quantitative Gleason grade, pT stage, pN stage, surgical margin status and preoperative PSA. In conclusion, the results of our study demonstrate that expression of FAM13C is an independent prognostic marker in prostate cancer. Finding FAM13C also in non-neoplastic prostate tissues highlights the importance of properly selecting cancer-rich areas for RNA-based FAM13C expression analysis.

Up regulation and nuclear translocation of Y-box binding protein 1 (YB-1) is linked to poor prognosis in ERG-negative prostate cancer

Y-box binding protein 1 (YB-1) is an RNA and DNA binding factor with potential prognostic cancer. To evaluate the clinical impact of YB-1, a tissue microarray with 11,152 prostate cancers was analysed by immunohistochemistry. Cytoplasmic and nuclear staining was separately analysed. Cytoplasmic YB-1 was absent or weak in normal epithelium but seen in 86,3% of carcinomas. Cytoplasmic staining was weak, moderate, and strong in 29.6%, 43.7% and 13.0% of tumours and was accompanied by nuclear YB-1 staining in 32.1% of cases. Particularly nuclear staining was strongly linked to poor patient prognosis (p < 0.0001). YB-1 protein was more abundant in ERG positive (95.1%) than in ERG negative cancers (80.4%; p < 0.0001), but any prognostic impact of YB-1 staining was limited to the ERG-negative subset. Similarly, significant associations with pT stage and Gleason grade (p < 0.0001 each) were driven by the ERG negative subset. The significant association of YB-1 protein detection with deletions of PTEN, 5q21 and 6q15 fits well in the protein’s role as an inhibitor of DNA damage dependent cell cycle arrest, a role that is likely to induce genomic instability. In summary, the data show, that the prognostic impact of YB-1 expression is limited to ERG negative prostate cancers.

CD147 and Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer is one of the most common non-cutaneous malignancies in men. We aimed to systemically evaluate the relationship between the expression of CD147 in tissues and the clinicopathological features of prostate cancer.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

PubMed (1966-2016), EMBASE (1980-2016), the Cochrane Library (1996-2016), Web of Science (1945-2016), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (1982-2016), and the WanFang databases (1988-2016) were searched. Literature quality assessment was performed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Meta-analysis was performed by using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 13.0. A total of 12591 prostate cancer patients from 14 studies were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that there were significant differences in the positive expression rate in the following comparisons: prostatic cancer tissues vs. normal prostate tissues (odds ratio [OR] = 26.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] 7.95-91.20, P < 0.00001), prostatic cancer tissues vs. benign prostatic hyperplasia tissues (OR = 20.54, 95% CI 8.20-51.44, P < 0.00001), high Gleason score vs. low Gleason score (OR = 2.39, 95% CI 1.33-4.27, P = 0.03), TNM III to IV vs. TNM I to II (OR = 9.95, 95% CI 4.96-19.96, P < 0.00001), low or moderate differentiation vs. high differentiation (OR = 8.12, 95% CI 3.69-17.85, P < 0.00001), lymph node metastasis vs. non-lymph node metastasis (OR = 4.31, 95% CI 1.11-16.71, P = 0.03), and distant metastasis vs. non-distant metastasis (OR = 8.90, 95% CI 3.24-24.42, P < 0.00001).

CONCLUSION

The CD147 positive expression rate was closely related to the clinical characteristics of prostate cancer, but more research is needed to confirm the findings owing to the results of the subgroups.

The role of CD147 expression in prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

There are a number of studies which show that expression of CD147 is increased significantly in prostate cancer (PCa). However, conflicting conclusions have also been reported by other researchers lately. In order to arrive at a clear conclusion, a meta-analysis of eligible studies was conducted.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases to identify all the published case-control studies on the relationship between the expression of CD147 and PCa until February 2016. In the end, a total of 930 patients in eight studies were included in the meta-analysis.

RESULTS

CD147 expression in the PCa patients increased significantly (odds ratio [OR], 4.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.52-6.14; Z=10.79; P<0.05), but there was obvious heterogeneity between studies (I (2)=92.9%, P<0.05). Subgroup analysis showed that positive expression of CD147 was associated with PCa among the Asian population (OR, 21.01; 95% CI, 12.88-34.28; Z=12.19; P<0.05). Furthermore, it was significantly related to TNM stage (OR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.17-0.35; Z=7.74; P<0.05), Gleason score (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.31-0.56; Z=5.62; P<0.05), differentiation grade (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.13-0.56; Z=3.47; P<0.05), and pretreatment serum prostate-specific antigen level (OR, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.03-0.16; Z=6.47; P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Positive expression of CD147 was related to PCa, significant heterogeneity was not found between Asian studies, and the result became more significant. The positive expression of CD147 was significantly related to the clinicopathological characteristics of PCa. This suggests that CD147 plays an essential role in poor prognosis and recurrence prediction.

CD147 expression predicts biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy independent of histologic and pathologic features

BACKGROUND

CD147 is an MMP-inducing protein often implicated in cancer progression. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of CD147 in prostate cancer (PCa) progression and the prognostic ability of CD147 in predicting biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy.

METHODS

Plasma membrane-localized CD147 protein expression was quantified in patient samples using immunohistochemistry and multispectral imaging, and expression was compared to clinico-pathological features (pathologic stage, Gleason score, tumor volume, preoperative PSA, lymph node status, surgical margins, biochemical recurrence status). CD147 specificity and expression were confirmed with immunoblotting of prostate cell lines, and CD147 mRNA expression was evaluated in public expression microarray datasets of patient prostate tumors.

RESULTS

Expression of CD147 protein was significantly decreased in localized tumors (pT2; p = 0.02) and aggressive PCa (≥pT3; p = 0.004), and metastases (p = 0.001) compared to benign prostatic tissue. Decreased CD147 was associated with advanced pathologic stage (p = 0.009) and high Gleason score (p = 0.02), and low CD147 expression predicted biochemical recurrence (HR 0.55; 95 % CI 0.31-0.97; p = 0.04) independent of clinico-pathologic features. Immunoblot bands were detected at 44 kDa and 66 kDa, representing non-glycosylated and glycosylated forms of CD147 protein, and CD147 expression was lower in tumorigenic T10 cells than non-tumorigenic BPH-1 cells (p = 0.02). Decreased CD147 mRNA expression was associated with increased Gleason score and pathologic stage in patient tumors but is not associated with recurrence status.

CONCLUSIONS

Membrane-associated CD147 expression is significantly decreased in PCa compared to non-malignant prostate tissue and is associated with tumor progression, and low CD147 expression predicts biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy independent of pathologic stage, Gleason score, lymph node status, surgical margins, and tumor volume in multivariable analysis.

Overexpression of ERG and Wild-Type PTEN Are Associated with Favorable Clinical Prognosis and Low Biochemical Recurrence in Prostate Cancer

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of two commonly altered genes ERG and PTEN in prostate cancer (PC) and evaluate their prognostic significance. Despite conflicting published results, TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion and PTEN loss are generally considered unfavorable markers for PC progression.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Of the 762 prostatic adenocarcinoma specimens obtained from radical prostatectomy, 613 without neoadjuvant hormone therapy were included in tissue microarrays for quantitatively assessment of ERG and PTEN expression via immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis of the association between such expression and clinicopathological parameters, including clinical prognosis, was performed with a p-value of <0.05 considered significant.

RESULTS

During a median follow-up period of 44.0 months, 132 (21.5%) patients developed biochemical recurrence (BCR). ERG overexpression and PTEN loss were observed in 145 (23.7%) and 253 (41.3%) cases, respectively. BCR-free survival was significantly better in patients with ERG overexpression (p=0.005), but unfavorable among those with PTEN loss (p=0.142). Sub-group analysis revealed that patients with PTEN loss and negative ERG expression had the worst BCR-free survival outcome (p=0.021). Furthermore, multivariate analysis identified prostate-specific antigen level (≥10 ng/mL), Gleason score (>6), pathologic T stage (≥T3), positive surgical margin, and extraprostatic capsule extension as significant risk factors for BCR (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicated that ERG overexpression was associated with favorable BCR-free survival after radical prostatectomy for PC, whereas PTEN loss was with unfavorable outcomes.

Construction and characterization of novel fowlpox virus shuttle vectors

Viral vectors are important vehicles in vaccine research. Avipoxviruses including fowlpox virus (FPV) play major roles in viral vaccine vector development for the prevention and therapy of human and other veterinary diseases due to their immunomodulatory effects and safety profile. Recently, we analyzed the genomic and proteomic backgrounds of the Chinese FPV282E4 strain. Based on analysis of the whole genome of FPV282E4, the FPV150 and FPV193 loci were chosen as insertion sites for foreign genes, and two shuttle vectors with a triple-gene expression cassette were designed and constructed. Homologous recombination between the FPV virus genome and sequences within the shuttle plasmids in infected cells was confirmed. The recombinants were obtained through several rounds of plaque purification using enhanced green fluorescent protein as a reporter and evaluated for the correct expression of foreign genes in vitro using RT-PCR, real-time PCR and Western blotting. Morphogenesis and growth kinetics were assayed via transmission electron microscopy and viral titering, respectively. Results showed that recombinant viruses were generated and correctly expressed foreign genes in CEF, BHK-21 and 293T cells. At least three different exogenous genes could be expressed simultaneously and stably over multiple passages. Additionally, the FPV150 mutation, FPV193 deletion and insertion of foreign genes did not affect the morphogenesis, replication and proliferation of recombinant viruses in cells. Our study contributes to the improvement of FPV vectors for multivalent vaccines.

The biological function and clinical utilization of CD147 in human diseases: a review of the current scientific literature

CD147 or EMMPRIN is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily in humans. It is widely expressed in human tumors and plays a central role in the progression of many cancers by stimulating the secretion of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and cytokines. CD147 regulates cell proliferation, apoptosis, and tumor cell migration, metastasis and differentiation, especially under hypoxic conditions. CD147 is also important to many organ systems. This review will provide a detailed overview of the discovery, characterization, molecular structure, diverse biological functions and regulatory mechanisms of CD147 in human physiological and pathological processes. In particular, recent studies have demonstrated the potential application of CD147 not only as a phenotypic marker of activated regulatory T cells but also as a potential diagnostic marker for early-stage disease. Moreover, CD147 is recognized as an effective therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and other cancers, and exciting clinical progress has been made in HCC treatment using CD147-directed monoclonal antibodies.

Qualitative and Quantitative Requirements for Assessing Prognostic Markers in Prostate Cancer

Molecular prognostic markers are urgently needed in order to improve therapy decisions in prostate cancer. To better understand the requirements for biomarker studies, we re-analyzed prostate cancer tissue microarray immunohistochemistry (IHC) data from 39 prognosis markers in subsets of 50 - >10,000 tumors. We found a strong association between the "prognostic power" of individual markers and the number of tissues that should be minimally included in such studies. The prognostic relevance of more than 90% of the 39 IHC markers could be detected if ≥6400 tissue samples were analyzed. Studying markers of tissue quality, including immunohistochemistry of ets-related gene (ERG) and vimentin, and fluorescence in-situ hybridization analysis of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), we found that 18% of tissues in our tissue microarray (TMA) showed signs of reduced tissue preservation and limited immunoreactivity. Comparing the results of Kaplan-Meier survival analyses or associations to ERG immunohistochemistry in subsets of tumors with and without exclusion of these defective tissues did not reveal statistically relevant differences. In summary, our study demonstrates that TMA-based marker validation studies using biochemical recurrence as an endpoint require at least 6400 individual tissue samples for establishing statistically relevant associations between the expression of molecular markers and patient outcome if weak to moderate prognosticators should also be reliably identified.

Results of a randomized phase I gene therapy clinical trial of nononcolytic fowlpox viruses encoding T cell costimulatory molecules

Oncolytic viruses have shown promise as gene delivery vehicles in the treatment of cancer; however, their efficacy may be inhibited by the induction of anti-viral antibody titers. Fowlpox virus is a nonreplicating and nononcolytic vector that has been associated with lesser humoral but greater cell-mediated immunity in animal tumor models. To test whether fowlpox virus gene therapy is safe and can elicit immune responses in patients with cancer, we conducted a randomized phase I clinical trial of two recombinant fowlpox viruses encoding human B7.1 or a triad of costimulatory molecules (B7.1, ICAM-1, and LFA-3; TRICOM). Twelve patients (10 with melanoma and 2 with colon adenocarcinoma) enrolled in the trial and were randomized to rF-B7.1 or rF-TRICOM administered in a dose escalation manner (~3.7×10(7) or ~3.7×10(8) plaque-forming units) by intralesional injection every 4 weeks. The therapy was well tolerated, with only four patients experiencing grade 1 fever or injection site pain, and there were no serious adverse events. All patients developed anti-viral antibody titers after vector delivery, and posttreatment anti-carcinoembryonic antigen antibody titers were detected in the two patients with colon cancer. All patients developed CD8(+) T cell responses against fowlpox virus, but few responses against defined tumor-associated antigens were observed. This is the first clinical trial of direct (intratumoral) gene therapy with a nononcolytic fowlpox virus. Treatment was well tolerated in patients with metastatic cancer; all subjects exhibited anti-viral antibody responses, but limited tumor-specific T cell responses were detected. Nononcolytic fowlpox viruses are safe and induce limited T cell responses in patients with cancer. Further development may include prime-boost strategies using oncolytic viruses for initial priming.