Potentials of CCL21 and CBS as Therapeutic Approaches for Breast Cancer

Combined signature of G protein-coupled receptors and tumor microenvironment provides a prognostic and therapeutic biomarker for skin cutaneous melanoma

BACKGROUND

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been shown to have an important role in tumor development and metastasis, and abnormal expression of GPCRs is significantly associated with poor prognosis of tumor patients. In this study, we analyzed the GPCRs-related gene (GPRGs) and tumor microenvironment (TME) in skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) to construct a prognostic model to help SKCM patients obtain accurate clinical treatment strategies.

METHODS

SKCM expression data and clinical information were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Differential expression analysis, LASSO algorithm, and univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis were used to screen prognosis-related genes (GPR19, GPR146, S1PR2, PTH1R, ADGRE5, CXCR3, GPR143, and OR2I1P) and multiple prognosis-good immune cells; the data set was analyzed according to above results and build up a GPR-TME classifier. The model was further subjected to immune infiltration, functional enrichment, tumor mutational load, immunotherapy prediction, and scRNA-seq data analysis. Finally, cellular experiments were conducted to validate the functionality of the key gene GPR19 in the model.

RESULTS

The findings indicate that high expression of GPRGs is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with SKCM, highlighting the significant role of GPRGs and the tumor microenvironment (TME) in SKCM development. Notably, the group characterized by low GPR expression and a high TME exhibited the most favorable prognosis and immunotherapeutic efficacy. Furthermore, cellular assays demonstrated that knockdown of GPR19 significantly reduced the proliferation, migration, and invasive capabilities of melanoma cells in A375 and A2058 cell lines.

CONCLUSION

This study provides novel insights for the prognosis evaluation and treatment of melanoma, along with the identification of a new biomarker, GPR19.

CCL19: a novel prognostic chemokine modulates the tumor immune microenvironment and outcomes of cancers

BACKGROUND

CCL19 is a chemokine involved in cancer research due to its important role in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and clinical relevance in cancers. This study aimed to analyze transcription expression, genomic alteration, association with tumor immune microenvironment of CCL19 expression and its prediction value for prognosis and responses to immunotherapy for patients with cancers.

METHODS

RNA sequencing data and corresponding clinicopathological information of a total of large-scale cancer patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases. Multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) was implemented to identify differential infiltration of Treg, CD8+ T cells, and tumor-associated macrophages, while CCL19 immunohistochemistry was conducted on 182 breast cancer samples from a real-world cohort.

RESULTS

Based on large-scale multi-center survival analysis of cancer patients, we found the prognosis of patients with high CCL19 expression was prominently better than those with low CCL19 expression. For patients from multiple independent cohorts, suppressed CCL19 expression exerts significant progressive phenotype and apoptosis activity of cancers, especially in breast and ovarian cancer. Interestingly, anti-tumor immune cells, specifically the CD8+ T cells and macrophages, were clustered from TME by elevated CCL19 expression. Additionally, higher CCL19 levels reflected heightened immune activity and substantial heterogeneity.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, our findings support the notion that elevated CCL19 expression is linked to favorable outcomes and enhanced anti-tumor immunity, characterized by increased CD8+ T cells within the TME. This suggests the potential of CCL19 as a prognostic marker, predictive biomarker for immunotherapy, therapeutic target of cancers.

Hydrogen Sulfide Biology and Its Role in Cancer

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an endogenous biologically active gas produced in mammalian tissues. It plays a very critical role in many pathophysiological processes in the body. It can be endogenously produced through many enzymes analogous to the cysteine family, while the exogenous source may involve inorganic sulfide salts. H2S has recently been well investigated with regard to the onset of various carcinogenic diseases such as lung, breast, ovaries, colon cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. H2S is considered an oncogenic gas, and a potential therapeutic target for treating and diagnosing cancers, due to its role in mediating the development of tumorigenesis. Here in this review, an in-detail up-to-date explanation of the potential role of H2S in different malignancies has been reported. The study summarizes the synthesis of H2S, its roles, signaling routes, expressions, and H2S release in various malignancies. Considering the critical importance of this active biological molecule, we believe this review in this esteemed journal will highlight the oncogenic role of H2S in the scientific community.