Overexpression of CD59 inhibits apoptosis of T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia via AKT/Notch1 signaling pathway

Complement regulators as novel targets for anti-cancer therapy: A comprehensive review

Cancer remains a formidable global health challenge requiring the continued exploration of innovative therapeutic approaches. While traditional treatment strategies including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy have had some success, primarily in early-stage disease, the quest for more targeted, personalized, safer, and effective therapies remains an ongoing pursuit. Over the past decade, significant advances in the field of tumor immunology have dramatically shifted a focus towards immunotherapy, although the ability to harness and coopt the immune system to treat cancer is still just beginning to be realized. One important area that has yet to be fully explored is the complement system, an integral part of innate immunity that has gathered attention recently as a source of potential targets for anti-cancer therapy. The complement system has a complex and context dependent role in cancer biology in that it not only contributes to immune surveillance but also may promote tumor progression. Complement regulators, including CD46, CD55, CD59, and complement factor H, exercise defined control over complement activation, and have also been acknowledged for their role in the tumor microenvironment. This review explores the intricate role of complement regulators in cancer development and progression, examining their potential as therapeutic targets, current strategies, challenges, and the evolving landscape of clinical research.

Expanded tumor-associated polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells in Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia display immune suppressive activity

The role of the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment in regulating the antitumor immune response in Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) remains poorly understood. Here we transcriptionally and phenotypically profiled non-malignant (CD19- CD138-) BM cells from WM patients with a focus on myeloid derived suppressive cells (MDSCs) to provide a deeper understanding of their role in WM. We found that HLA-DRlowCD11b+CD33+ MDSCs were significantly increased in WM patients as compared to normal controls, with an expansion of predominantly polymorphonuclear (PMN)-MDSCs. Single-cell immunogenomic profiling of WM MDSCs identified an immune-suppressive gene signature with upregulated inflammatory pathways associated with interferon and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling. Gene signatures associated with an inflammatory and immune suppressive environment were predominately expressed in PMN-MDSCs. In vitro, WM PMN-MDSCs demonstrated robust T-cell suppression and their viability and expansion was notably enhanced by granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and TNFα. Furthermore, BM malignant B-cells attracted PMN-MDSCs to a greater degree than monocytic MDSCs. Collectively, these data suggest that malignant WM B cells actively recruit PMN-MDSCs which promote an immunosuppressive BM microenvironment through a direct T cell inhibition, while release of G-CSF/TNFα in the microenvironment further promotes PMN-MDSC expansion and in turn immune suppression. Targeting PMN-MDSCs may therefore represent a potential therapeutic strategy in patients with WM.

Biosensors for the detection of lung cancer biomarkers: A review on biomarkers, transducing techniques and recent graphene-based implementations

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death. In addition to chest X-rays and computerised tomography, the detection of cancer biomarkers serves as an emerging diagnostic tool for lung cancer. This review explores biomarkers including the rat sarcoma gene, the tumour protein 53 gene, the epidermal growth factor receptor, the neuron-specific enolase, the cytokeratin-19 fragment 21-1 and carcinoembryonic antigen as potential indicators of lung cancer. Biosensors, which utilise various transduction techniques, present a promising solution for the detection of lung cancer biomarkers. Therefore, this review also explores the working principles and recent implementations of transducers in the detection of lung cancer biomarkers. The transducing techniques explored include optical techniques, electrochemical techniques and mass-based techniques for detecting biomarkers and cancer-related volatile organic compounds. Graphene has outstanding properties in terms of charge transfer, surface area, thermal conductivity and optical characteristics, on top of allowing easy incorporation of other nanomaterials. Exploiting the collective merits of both graphene and biosensor is an emerging trend, as evidenced by the growing number of studies on graphene-based biosensors for the detection of lung cancer biomarkers. This work provides a comprehensive review of these studies, including information on modification schemes, nanomaterials, amplification strategies, real sample applications, and sensor performance. The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges and future outlook of lung cancer biosensors, including scalable graphene synthesis, multi-biomarker detection, portability, miniaturisation, financial support, and commercialisation.

Pre-Clinical Evaluation of the Hypomethylating Agent Decitabine for the Treatment of T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma

T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is a rare and aggressive lymphatic cancer, often diagnosed at a young age. Patients are treated with intensive chemotherapy, potentially followed by a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Although prognosis of T-LBL has improved with intensified treatment protocols, they are associated with side effects and 10-20% of patients still die from relapsed or refractory disease. Given this, the search toward less toxic anti-lymphoma therapies is ongoing. Here, we targeted the recently described DNA hypermethylated profile in T-LBL with the DNA hypomethylating agent decitabine. We evaluated the anti-lymphoma properties and downstream effects of decitabine, using patient derived xenograft (PDX) models. Decitabine treatment resulted in prolonged lymphoma-free survival in all T-LBL PDX models, which was associated with downregulation of the oncogenic MYC pathway. However, some PDX models showed more benefit of decitabine treatment compared to others. In more sensitive models, differentially methylated CpG regions resulted in more differentially expressed genes in open chromatin regions. This resulted in stronger downregulation of cell cycle genes and upregulation of immune response activating transcripts. Finally, we suggest a gene signature for high decitabine sensitivity in T-LBL. Altogether, we here delivered pre-clinical proof of the potential use of decitabine as a new therapeutic agent in T-LBL.

The expression and clinical significance of CD59 and FLAER in Chinese adult AML patients

Background

The role of CD59 and fluorescently labeled aerolysin (FLAER) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains unclear and requires further investigation. To explore the relationship between CD59, FLAER, and AML, we investigated CD59 and FLAER expression in AML and analyzed their relationship with clinical characteristics of AML patients.

Methods

We employed flow cytometry (FCM) to analyze CD59 and FLAER expression in 161 AML patients at Tianjin Medical University General Hospital and evaluated its association with sex, white blood cell (WBC) count, platelet (PLT) count, thrombin time (TT), prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB), D‐Dimer(D‐D), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), followed by analyzing its connection with disease progression and complete remission (CR).

Results

CD59 and FLAER deficiencies were identified in AML patients. Compared with CR group, non‐CR group patients revealed more CD59 and FLAER deficiency. Compared with non‐acute promyelocytic leukemia (M3) group, M3 group patients had more CD59 and FLAER deficiency. CD59⁻ level in primordial cells of M3 patients was positively correlated with primordial cell ratio (r = 0.660, p = 0.003). Additionally, we discovered that the decline in CD59 and FLAER levels might be linked to higher D‐D and LDH in AML patients. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

We demonstrated that the decline in CD59 and FLAER levels was associated with leukemia cell proliferation and abnormal coagulation function in AML, suggesting that they could serve as a predictor of AML coagulation dysfunction, particularly in M3.

STAT5: From Pathogenesis Mechanism to Therapeutic Approach in Acute Leukemia

BACKGROUND

Based on the results of multiple studies, multiple signaling pathways is a major cause of resistence to chemotherapy in leukemia cells. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) is among these factors; it plays an essential role in proliferation of leukemic cells.

METHODS

We obtained the materials used in our study via PubMed search from 1996 through 2019. The key search terms included "STAT5," "acute leukemia," "leukemogenesis," and "mutation."

RESULTS

On activation, STAT5 not only inhibits apoptosis of leukemic cells via activating the B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) gene but also inhibits resistance to chemotherapy by enhancing human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression and maintaining telomere length in cells. It has also been shown that a number of mutations in the STAT5 gene and in related genes alter the expression of STAT5.

CONCLUSION

The identification of STAT5 and the factors activated in its up- or downstream expression, affecting its function, contribute to better treatments such as targeted therapy rather than chemotherapy, improving the quality of life patients.

The role and mechanism of miR-557 in inhibiting the differentiation and maturation of megakaryocytes in immune thrombocytopenia

Specific miRNA in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) was screened to explore its intervention effects and mechanisms in ITP. MTT assay and CFSE staining were used to detect the effects of gradient concentrations of thrombopoietin (TPO) on cell proliferation. Expressions of differentially expressed miRNAs were analysed via qRT-PCR in TPO-induced megakaryocytes and ITP plasma. Effects of miR-557 on cell physiological functions were examined by MTT and flow cytometry. Expressions of miR-557, apoptosis-associated genes and Akt/ERK pathways were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot as needed. Multinucleation of TPO-induced megakaryocytes was determined by megakaryocyte colonies. The toe skin and intestinal bleeding of the ITP rat model were observed and evaluated. Effects of miR-557 on the numbers of platelets, megakaryocytes, and peripheral blood platelets and the expressions of CD4⁺ T cells, Treg cells, TGF-β, IL-6 and miR-557 in the ITP rats were detected by Giemsa staining, flow cytometry, ELISA and qRT-PCR. MiR-557 was identified as an specific miRNA associated with both ITP and TPO treatment. MiR-557 inhibitor enhanced the physiological functions of TPO-induced megakaryocytes, while miR-557 mimic had the opposite effect. At the molecular level, the expressions of miR-557, cleaved Caspase-3 and Bax were further silenced by inhibitor, on the contrary, the expressions of bcl-2, p-Akt and p-ERK were upregulated. Animal experiments showed that, miR-557 inhibitor increased the numbers of platelets and megakaryocytes, and improved the symptoms of ITP model rats. Our results indicated that miR-557 inhibitor improved ITP by regulating apoptosis-related genes and cellular immunity and activating the Akt/ERK pathway.

The expression of membrane-bound complement regulatory proteins CD46, CD55 and CD59 in oral lichen planus

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the expression levels of membrane-anchored complement regulatory proteins (mCRPs), CD46, CD55 and CD59 in oral lichen planus (OLP), and evaluate the activation status of complement.

DESIGN

Thirty-seven cases of OLP patients (20 non-erosive OLP and 17 erosive OLP) and twenty healthy controls were recruited in this study. The proteins and mRNA expression levels of CD46, CD55 and CD59 in OLP tissues were detected by western blotting and RT-qPCR respectively, and the expression levels of complement C3 and sC5b-9 in OLP patients' saliva were detected by ELISA to evaluate the activation status of complement. In addition, mucosa tissues of another 3 non-erosive OLP patients and another 3 healthy controls were collected, and the epithelial layer of two groups were separated to culture primary keratinocytes in vitro. Immunofluorescence was used to further detect the expression of mCRPs at the cellular level.

RESULTS

The levels of CD46, CD55 and CD59 in OLP tissues and cells were significantly decreased compared with those of the healthy control group, and the level of complement C3 in the patients' saliva was significantly decreased, while the level of sC5b-9 was increased.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that the reduced expression of mCRPs keeps the complement system in a continuously active state, which may be the reason of the persistent local immune inflammatory state in OLP. This study aimed to provide new insights for the etiology and therapy of OLP.

Consolidative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation after chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: who? When? Why?

Although anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy shows good efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (r/r B-ALL), it fails to improve long-term leukemia-free survival (LFS). Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) after CAR T-cell therapy has emerged as a promising strategy to prolong LFS. Nevertheless, which patients are likely to benefit from consolidative allo-HSCT, as well as the optimal therapeutic window, remain to be explored. Recent clinical data indicate that patients with complex karyotypes, adverse genes, and high pre-infusion minimal residual disease (MRD) by flow cytometry in the bone marrow, were at high risk of relapse after CAR T-cell therapy. High pre-lymphodepletion lactate dehydrogenase, low pre-lymphodepletion platelet count, absence of fludarabine in lymphodepletion, persistent leukemic sequence by high throughput sequencing in bone marrow after CAR T-cell infusion, and early loss of CAR T cells have also been linked to relapse after CAR T-cell therapy. In patients having these risk factors, consolidative allo-HSCT after CAR T-cell therapy may prolong LFS. Allo-HSCT provides optimal clinical benefit in patients with MRD-negative complete remission, typically within three months after CAR T-cell therapy. Herein, we summarize the clinical data on consolidative allo-HSCT after anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, as well as the potential factors associated with allo-HSCT benefit. We also discuss the optimal therapeutic window and regimen of consolidative allo-HSCT. Finally, and most importantly, we provide recommendations for the assessment and management of r/r B-ALL patients undergoing anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy.

Complement Membrane Attack Complex: New Roles, Mechanisms of Action, and Therapeutic Targets

The complement membrane attack complex (MAC) is classically known as a cytolytic effector of innate and adaptive immunity that forms pores in the plasma membrane of pathogens or targeted cells, leading to osmolysis. Nucleated cells resist MAC-mediated cytolysis by expression of inhibitors that block MAC assembly or by rapid removal of MAC through endocytosis or shedding. In the absence of lysis, MAC may induce intracellular signaling and cell activation, responses implicated in a variety of autoimmune, inflammatory, and transplant disease settings. New discoveries into the structure and biophysical properties of MAC revealed heterogeneous MAC precursors and conformations that provide insights into MAC function. In addition, new mechanisms of MAC-mediated signaling and its contribution to disease pathogenesis have recently come to light. MAC-activated cells have been found to express proinflammatory proteins-often through NF-κB-dependent transcription, assemble inflammasomes, enabling processing, and facilitate secretion of IL-1β and IL-18, as well as other signaling pathways. These recent insights into the mechanisms of action of MAC provide an updated framework to therapeutic approaches that can target MAC assembly, signaling, and proinflammatory effects in various complement-mediated diseases.

Coenzyme Q10 attenuates rat hepatocarcinogenesis via the reduction of CD59 expression and phospholipase D activity

The current study aimed to test the profile of serum lipids, phospholipase D (PLD) activity, and CD59 expression pattern in rat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after therapeutic treatment with Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Three rat groups were allocated as normal control, untreated HCC, and treated HCC (HCC + CoQ10). The levels of serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was detected using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Serum lipids, classical (CH50), and alternative (APH50) pathways of complement activation, the liver cell HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR), and PLD activities were assayed colorimetrically. The protein expression of CD59, scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SRB1), B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl2), and cleaved Caspase-3 (Casp-3) were detected using western blotting, while the level of serum CD59 (sCD59) was assessed using dot-blot. CoQ10 reduced the cell proliferation, histological alterations, and the levels of AFP and TNF-α but increased lipids, CH50, and sCD59 in serum. In the liver cell, CoQ10 decreased and increased PLD and HMGCR enzyme activities, respectively. In addition, reduction of liver CD59, Bcl2, and SRB1 vs increased cleaved Casp-3 expressions was observed. Statistical correlation indicated an inverse relationship between CH50 and each of CD59 expression and PLD activity after treatment with CoQ10. In conclusion, CoQ10 could protect against rat HCC through increased lipids and the reduction of CD59 expression and PLD activity. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: To our knowledge, this study is the first to describe the attenuating effect of antitumour natural product like Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) via the reduction of CD59 expression and phospholipase D (PLD) activity. This illustrates the important role of CD59 and PLD in relation to lipids in cancer prevention.

An improved advanced fragment analysis-based classification and risk stratification of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

BACKGROUND

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) contains cytogenetically distinct subtypes that respond differently to cytotoxic drugs. Therefore, subtype classification is important and indispensable in ALL diagnosis. In our previous study, we identified some marker genes in childhood ALL by means of microarray technology and, furthermore, detected the relative expression levels of 57 marker genes and built a comparatively convenient and cost-effective classifier with a prediction accuracy as high as 94% based on the advanced fragment analysis (AFA) technique.

METHODS

A more convenient improved AFA (iAFA) technique with one-step multiplex RT-PCR and an anti-contamination system was developed to detect 57 marker genes for ALL.

RESULTS

The iAFA assay is much easier and more convenient to perform than the previous AFA assay and has a prediction accuracy of 95.29% in ALL subtypes. The anti-contamination system could effectively prevent the occurrence of lab DNA contamination. We also showed that marker gene expression profiles in pediatric ALL revealed 2 subgroups with different outcomes. Most ALL patients (95.8%) had a good-risk genetic profile, and only 4.2% of ALL patients had a poor-risk genetic profile, which predicted an event-free survival (EFS) of 93.6 ± 1.3% vs 18.8 ± 9.8% at 5 years, respectively (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to the previous AFA assay, the iAFA technique is more functional, time-saving and labor-saving. It could be a valuable clinical tool for the classification and risk stratification of pediatric ALL patients.