Overexpressed p-S6 associates with lymph node metastasis and predicts poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer

Epichaperomes: redefining chaperone biology and therapeutic strategies in complex diseases

The complexity of disease biology extends beyond mutations or overexpression, encompassing stress-induced mechanisms that reshape proteins into pathological assemblies. Epichaperomes, stable and disease-specific assemblies of chaperones and co-chaperones, exemplify this phenomenon. This review emphasizes the critical structural and functional distinctions between epichaperomes and canonical chaperones, highlighting their role in redefining therapeutic strategies. Epichaperomes arise under stress conditions through post-translational modifications that stabilize these assemblies, enabling them to act as scaffolding platforms that rewire protein-protein interaction networks and drive the pathological phenotypes of complex diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration. Chemical biology has been instrumental in uncovering the unique nature of epichaperomes, with small molecules like PU-H71 elucidating their biology and demonstrating their therapeutic potential by dismantling pathological scaffolds and restoring normal protein-protein interaction networks. By targeting epichaperomes, we unlock the potential for network-level interventions and personalized medicine, offering transformative possibilities for diseases driven by protein-protein interaction network dysregulation.

Recent Insights into the Roles of PEST-Containing Nuclear Protein

PEST-containing nuclear protein (PCNP), a short-lived small nuclear protein with 178 amino acids, is a nuclear protein containing two PEST sequences. PCNP is highly expressed in several malignant tumors such as cervical cancer, rectal cancer, and lung cancer. It is also associated with cell cycle regulation and the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) and Wnt signaling pathways during tumor growth. The present article discuss how PCNP regulates the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and Wnt signaling pathways and related proteins, and the ubiquitination of PCNP regulates tumor cell cycle as well as the progress of the application of PCNP in the pathophysiology and treatment of colon cancer, human ovarian cancer, thyroid cancer, lung adenocarcinoma and oral squamous cell carcinoma. The main relevant articles were retrieved from PubMed, with keywords such as PEST-containing nuclear protein (PCNP), cancer (tumor), and signaling pathways as inclusion/exclusion criteria. Relevant references has been included and cited in the manuscript.

Expression of CXCL8 and its relationship with prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

To determine the expression of chemokine 8 (CXCL8) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and analyze its correlation with tumor characteristics and patient prognosis. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 149 NSCLC patients treated between January 2016 and April 2018, measuring serum CXCL8 expression upon admission or prior to treatment. The clinical characteristics, including lymph node metastasis and staging, based on CXCL8 expression levels, were analyzed. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves was drawn to assess its predictive value for lymph node metastasis and staging in NSCLC patients. Furthermore, the Kaplan-Meier curve was plotted to assess the impact of CXCL8 on 5-year survival in NSCLC Patients. NSCLC patients exhibited significantly higher serum CXCL8 levels than those with benign tumors (P<0.001), with the high CXCL8 expression group showing a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis or stage III NSCLC (P<0.01). CXCL8 was identified as an independent predictor of lymph node metastasis (AUC=0.730) and higher TNM stage (AUC=0.708), as well as a validated biomarker for predicting five-year survival in NSCLC patients. This study highlights the strong association between CXCL8 expression in NSCLC and patient prognosis, particularly regarding lymph node metastasis and clinical staging, suggesting the need for further research to explore CXCL8's specific role in the tumor microenvironment and its impact on different NSCLC subtypes.

Advances in lymphatic metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is a deeply malignant tumor with high incidence and mortality. Despite the rapid development of diagnosis and treatment technology, abundant patients with lung cancer are still inevitably faced with recurrence and metastasis, contributing to death. Lymphatic metastasis is the first step of distant metastasis and an important prognostic indicator of non-small cell lung cancer. Tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis is involved in the construction of the tumor microenvironment, except promoting malignant proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells, it also plays a crucial role in individual response to treatment, especially immunotherapy. Thus, this article reviews the current research status of lymphatic metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer, in order to provide some insights for the basic research and clinical and translational application in this field.

PD-L1/pS6 in Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) during Osimertinib Treatment in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

The PD-1/PD-L1 axis provides CTCs an escape route from the immune system. Phosphorylation of the ribosomal protein S6 is implicated in the same pathway, following mTOR activation. The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of PD-L1 and pS6 in CTCs from NSCLC patients under Osimertinib treatment at a single cell level. CTCs were isolated using ISET from NSCLC patients’ blood [37 at baseline, 25 after the 1st cycle, and 23 at the end of treatment (EOT)]. Staining was performed using immunofluorescence. Cytokeratin-positive (CK+) CTCs were detected in 62% of patients. CK+PD-L1+CD45− and CK+pS6+ phenotypes were detected in 38% and 41% of the patients at baseline, in 28% and 32% after 1st cycle, and in 30% and 35% at EOT, respectively. Spearman’s analysis revealed statistically significant correlations between PD-L1 and pS6 phenotypes at all time points. Survival analysis revealed that CK+pS6+ (p = 0.003) and CKlowpS6+ (p = 0.021) phenotypes after 1st cycle were related to significantly decreased one-year progression-free survival (PFS12m) and PFS, respectively. CK+PD-L1+CD45−phenotype at baseline and after 1st cycle showed a trend for decreased PFS12m. Increased expression of PD-L1/pS6 in CTCs of Osimertinib-treated NSCLC patients implies the activation of the corresponding pathway, which is potentially associated with poor clinical outcomes.