Association of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors and their cognate HLA class I ligands with susceptibility to acute myeloid leukemia in Iranian patients

MiR-214 promotes the antitumor effect of NK cells in colorectal cancer liver metastasis through USP27X/Bim

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common tumor type, and liver metastasis reduces the long-term survival in CRC patients. Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in anti-tumor immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of miR-214-5p on NK cells in CRC liver metastasis. We collected clinical samples of CRC liver metastasis and nonmetastatic tissues and purchased the human NK cell lines NK92 and liver metastatic CRC cells KM12L4 for research. RT‒qPCR, Western blot, CCK-8, Transwell, and flow cytometry methods were used to evaluate the effect of miR-214-5p/USP27X/Bim pathway regulating NK cell activity on CRC liver metastasis. In addition, we also investigated the potential targets and regulatory mechanisms of the signaling pathway of miR-214-5p. In this study, we found that miR-214-5p was downregulated in CRC liver metastasis tissues. After transfection of miR-214-5p mimic, the activity of NK cells was significantly enhanced, and the proliferation and migration ability of CRC liver metastasis cells were inhibited, while inducing tumor cell apoptosis. Further research proved that USP27X is a potential target for miR-214-5p and upregulates Bim level through deubiquitination. In addition, miR-214-5p mimic reduced the level of USP27X and Bim, thereby enhancing the antitumor effect of NK cells. In conclusion, our research results show that miR-214-5p promotes the antitumor effect of NK cells by regulating the USP27X/Bim pathway, thereby inhibiting CRC liver metastasis. This finding reveals the important role of miR-214-5p in regulating the immune function of NK cells, and provides new ideas for developing new immunotherapy strategies.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10616-024-00642-1.

Activating KIR/HLA-I combinations as a risk factor of adult B-ALL

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most predominant type of ALL, is less common and incurable among adults. Regarding the pivotal role of NK cells in immune surveillance against hematological malignancies, studying the effective factors in regulating their function, particularly KIRs as the most important NK cell receptors and HLA-I molecules as their main ligands, is of importance. Since NK responses against malignant lymphoblasts are influenced by KIR signals, we did a case-control study on 154 adult patients with B-ALL and 181 healthy controls to investigate the correlation of KIR/HLA-I combinations with susceptibility to B-ALL in Iranians. The genotyping of KIR genes and HLA-I alleles was performed by PCR-SSP with 11 and 9 primer pairs, respectively. Our data revealed an increased frequency of activating (a)KIRs and aKIR/HLA-I combinations in our patients: KIR3DS1 (p = 0.009, OR = 1.81), Bx genotype (p = 0.038, OR = 1.81), KIR3DS1(+)/HLA-Bw4Thr80(+) (p = 0.004, OR = 3.61), and KIR3DS1(+)/HLA-B Bw4(+) (p = 0.037, OR = 1.76). The presence of inhibitory (i)KIRs in the absence of their cognate HLA-I ligands was also more frequent among the patients. However, the frequency of inhibitory combinations was more common in controls: KIR2DL1(+)/HLA-C2(+) (p = 0.027, OR = 0.57), KIR2DL2/3(+)/HLA-C1(+) (p = 0.004, OR = 0.5), and KIR3DL2(+)/HLA-A3/A11(+) (p = 0.0012, OR = 0.46). To sum up, the less inherited iKIR/HLA-I combinations might make individuals more susceptible to B-ALL because of inefficient education of NK cells.

Association of the Genetic Diversity of Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor Genes and HLA-C Ligand in Saudi Women With Thyroid Cancer

INTRODUCTION

Genetic diversity in the killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) gene composition and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I ligands, such as HLA-C, can affect the activity of natural killer cells and determine anti-cancer immunity. Specific KIR-HLA combinations can enhance cancer predisposition by promoting immune evasion. Studying the relationship between KIR-HLA polymorphisms and thyroid cancer (TC) risk can offer insights into how natural immunity fails, leading to disease development. Therefore, we investigated the association between KIR and HLA-C genotypes and TC risk in Saudi women.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, sixteen KIR genotypes and 2 HLA-C allotypes were determined using the polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) method, and the genotypes of 50 Saudi female patients with TC were compared with those of 50 Saudi female healthy controls (HC).

RESULTS

We observed a highly significant decrease in the presence of the KIR2DS2 and KIR2DS4 genes (OR = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.05-0.41, P = 0.0001; OR = 0.06, 95% CI = 0.02-0.2, P = 0.000, respectively) and in the presence of the KIR2DL5A gene (OR = 0.05, 95% CI = 0.02-0.14, P = 0.0000) in the TC group compared to the HC group. The frequency of the HLA-C2C2 allotype was significantly higher in HC compared to patients with TC (P = 0.02). The KIR haplotype group A and AB genotypes revealed a protective effect against TC (P = 0.0003 and P = 0.000, respectively), while the BB genotype showed a risk effect on TC compared to HC. Our results showed significant differences in the KIR gene combinations and KIR-HLA combinations between Saudi female TC patients and HC.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the expression of KIR genes and their HLA-C ligands may influence the risk of TC development in Saudi women.