Arrayed molecular barcoding identifies TNFSF13 as a positive regulator of acute myeloid leukemia-initiating cells

Immune checkpoints regulate acute myeloid leukemia stem cells

Acute myeloid leukemia stem cells (LSCs) express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II and many different immune checkpoint ligands and receptors, in which respect they resemble professional antigen-presenting cells. In addition, LSCs reside in the bone marrow (BM), a primary and secondary lymphoid organ, surrounded by immune cells. The function of these immune checkpoints (ICs) in the regulation of an anti-tumor immune response is well studied and IC inhibitors (ICIs) became a standard of care in many solid tumors. However, ICIs have very limited efficacy in AML. Nevertheless, the expression especially of immune activating ligands and receptors on LSCs is somewhat unexpected, since these cells have to evade protective immunity. Many ICs have been shown to mediate direct signaling in AML blasts and LSCs and thereby regulate self-renewal, differentiation and expansion of leukemic cells. Thus, the expression of ICs on the cell surface or their soluble forms often correlate with worse survival. In this review we summarize recent data on selected ICs of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) and the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily (TNFRSF) that have a documented role in the regulation of LSCs, independent of their immune regulatory role, and might become novel therapeutic targets.

Partial Inhibition of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) Phenotypes by Placenta-Derived DBMSCs in Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines, In Vitro

Stem cell-based therapies hold significant potential for cancer treatment due to their unique properties, including migration toward tumor niche, secretion of bioactive molecules, and immunosuppression. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from adult tissues can inhibit tumor progression, angiogenesis, and apoptosis of cancer cells. We have previously reported the isolation and characterization of placenta-derived decidua basalis mesenchymal stem cells (DBMSCs), which demonstrated higher levels of pro-migratory and anti-apoptotic genes, indicating potential anti-cancer effects. In this study, we analyzed the anti-cancer effects of DBMSCs on human breast cancer cell lines MDA231 and MCF7, with MCF 10A used as control. We also investigated how these cancer cells lines affect the functional competence of DBMSCs. By co-culturing DBMSCs with cancer cells, we analyzed changes in functions of both cell types, as well as alterations in their genomic and proteomic profile. Our results showed that treatment with DBMSCs significantly reduced the functionality of MDA231 and MCF7 cells, while MCF 10A cells remained unaffected. DBMSC treatment decreased epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related protein levels in MDA231 cells and modulated expression of other cancer-related genes in MDA231 and MCF7 cells. Although cancer cells reduced DBMSC proliferation, they increased their expression of anti-apoptotic genes. These findings suggest that DBMSCs can inhibit EMT-related proteins and reduce the invasive characteristics of MDA231 and MCF7 breast cancer cells, highlighting their potential as candidates for cell-based cancer therapies.

Unveiling mitochondrial and ribosomal gene deregulation and tumor microenvironment dynamics in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant clonal hematopoietic disease with a poor prognosis. Understanding the interaction between leukemic cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) can help predict the prognosis of leukemia and guide its treatment. Re-analyzing the scRNA-seq data from the CSC and G20 cohorts, using a Python-based pipeline including machine-learning-based scVI-tools, recapitulated the distinct hierarchical structure within the samples of AML patients. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was conducted to construct a weighted gene co-expression network and to identify gene modules primarily focusing on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), multipotent progenitors (MPPs), and natural killer (NK) cells. The analysis revealed significant deregulation in gene modules associated with aerobic respiration and ribosomal/cytoplasmic translation. Cell-cell communications were elucidated by the CellChat package, revealing an imbalance of activating and inhibitory immune signaling pathways. Interception of genes upregulated in leukemic HSCs & MPPs as well as in NKG2A-high NK cells was used to construct prognostic models. Normal Cox and artificial neural network models based on 10 genes were developed. The study reveals the deregulation of mitochondrial and ribosomal genes in AML patients and suggests the co-occurrence of stimulatory and inhibitory factors in the AML TME.

TNFRSF13B gene mutation in familial acute myeloid leukemia: A new piece in the complex scenario of hereditary predisposition?

TNFRSF13B mutations are widely associated with common variable immunodeficiency. TNFRSF13B was recently counted among relevant genes associated with childhood-onset of hematological malignancies; nonetheless, its role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains unexplored. We report the study of a family with two cases of AML, sharing a germline TNFRSF13B mutation favoring the formation of a more stable complex with its ligand TNFSF13: a positive regulator of AML-initiating cells. Our data turn the spotlight onto the TNFRSF13B role in AML onset, inserting a new fragment into the complex scenario of a hereditary predisposition to myeloid neoplasms.

FOXD1 expression-based prognostic model for uveal melanoma

FOXD1, a new member of the FOX transcription factor family, serves as a mediator and biomarker for cell reprogramming. But its contribution to prognosis of uveal melanoma (UVM) is unclear. This study demonstrated that FOXD1 might promote tumor growth and invasion, because FOXD1 expression was negatively correlated with overall survival, progression-free survival, and disease-specific survival in UVM patients. This conjecture was verified in cell culture with human uveal melanoma cell line (MUM2B) as model cells. Additionally, the biological mechanisms of FOXD1 based on FOXD1-related genomic spectrum, molecular pathways, tumor microenvironment, and drug treatment sensitivity were examined using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, aiming to reasonably explain why FOXD1 leads to poor prognosis of UVM. On these bases, a novel tumor prognostic model was established using the FOXD1-related immunomodulators TMEM173, TNFRSF4, TNFSF13, and ULBP1, which will enable the stratification of disease seriousness and clinical treatment for patients.

Combined GLUT1 and OXPHOS inhibition eliminates acute myeloid leukemia cells by restraining their metabolic plasticity

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is initiated and propagated by leukemia stem cells (LSCs), a self-renewing population of leukemia cells responsible for therapy resistance. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify new therapeutic opportunities targeting LSCs. Here, we performed an in vivo CRISPR knockout screen to identify potential therapeutic targets by interrogating cell surface dependencies of LSCs. The facilitated glucose transporter type 1 (GLUT1) emerged as a critical in vivo metabolic dependency for LSCs in a murine MLL::AF9-driven model of AML. GLUT1 disruption by genetic ablation or pharmacological inhibition led to suppression of leukemia progression and improved survival of mice that received transplantation with LSCs. Metabolic profiling revealed that Glut1 inhibition suppressed glycolysis, decreased levels of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates and increased the levels of amino acids. This metabolic reprogramming was accompanied by an increase in autophagic activity and apoptosis. Moreover, Glut1 disruption caused transcriptional, morphological, and immunophenotypic changes, consistent with differentiation of AML cells. Notably, dual inhibition of GLUT1 and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) exhibited synergistic antileukemic effects in the majority of tested primary AML patient samples through restraining of their metabolic plasticity. In particular, RUNX1-mutated primary leukemia cells displayed striking sensitivity to the combination treatment compared with normal CD34+ bone marrow and cord blood cells. Collectively, our study reveals a GLUT1 dependency of murine LSCs in the bone marrow microenvironment and demonstrates that dual inhibition of GLUT1 and OXPHOS is a promising therapeutic approach for AML.

Cell-cell interactome of the hematopoietic niche and its changes in acute myeloid leukemia

The bone marrow (BM) is a complex microenvironment, coordinating the production of billions of blood cells every day. Despite its essential role and its relevance to hematopoietic diseases, this environment remains poorly characterized. Here we present a high-resolution characterization of the niche in health and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) by establishing a single-cell gene expression database of 339,381 BM cells. We found significant changes in cell type proportions and gene expression in AML, indicating that the entire niche is disrupted. We then predicted interactions between hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and other BM cell types, revealing a remarkable expansion of predicted interactions in AML that promote HSPC-cell adhesion, immunosuppression, and cytokine signaling. In particular, predicted interactions involving transforming growth factor β1 (TGFB1) become widespread, and we show that this can drive AML cell quiescence in vitro. Our results highlight potential mechanisms of enhanced AML-HSPC competitiveness and a skewed microenvironment, fostering AML growth.

Real-Time Characterization of Clonal Fate Decisions in Complex Leukemia Samples by Fluorescent Genetic Barcoding

Clonal heterogeneity in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) forms the basis for treatment failure and relapse. Attempts to decipher clonal evolution and clonal competition primarily depend on deep sequencing approaches. However, this prevents the experimental confirmation of the identified disease-relevant traits on the same cell material. Here, we describe the development and application of a complex fluorescent genetic barcoding (cFGB) lentiviral vector system for the labeling and subsequent multiplex tracking of up to 48 viable AML clones by flow cytometry. This approach allowed the visualization of longitudinal changes in the in vitro growth behavior of multiplexed color-coded AML clones for up to 137 days. Functional studies of flow cytometry-enriched clones documented their stably inherited increase in competitiveness, despite the absence of growth-promoting mutations in exome sequencing data. Transplantation of aliquots of a color-coded AML cell mix into mice revealed the initial engraftment of similar clones and their subsequent differential distribution in the animals over time. Targeted RNA-sequencing of paired pre-malignant and de novo expanded clones linked gene sets associated with Myc-targets, embryonic stem cells, and RAS signaling to the foundation of clonal expansion. These results demonstrate the potency of cFGB-mediated clonal tracking for the deconvolution of verifiable driver-mechanisms underlying clonal selection in leukemia.

A comprehensive pancancer analysis reveals the potential value of RAR-related orphan receptor C (RORC) for cancer immunotherapy

Background: RAR-related orphan receptor C (RORC) plays an important role in autoimmune responses and inflammation. However, its function in cancer immunity is still unclear. Its potential value in cancer immunotherapy (CIT) needs to be further studied. Methods: Expression and clinical data for 33 cancers were obtained from UCSC-Xena. The correlation between RORC expression and clinical parameters was analyzed using the limma software package to assess the prognostic value of RORC. Timer2.0 and DriverDBv3 were used to analyze the RORC mutation and methylation profiles. RORC-associated signaling pathways were identified by GSEA. The correlations of RORC expression with tumor microenvironment factors were further assessed, including immune cell infiltration (obtained by CIBERSORT) and immunomodulators (in pancancer datasets from the Tumor-Immune System Interactions and Drug Bank [TISIDB] database). In addition, the correlations of RORC with four CIT biomarkers (tumor mutational burden, microsatellite instability, programmed death ligand-1, and mismatch repair) were explored. Furthermore, three CIT cohorts (GSE67501, GSE168204, and IMvigor210) from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and a previously published study were used to determine the association between RORC expression and CIT response. Results: RORC was differentially expressed in many tumor tissues relative to normal tissues (20/33). In a small number of cancers, RORC expression was correlated with age (7/33), sex (4/33), and tumor stage (9/33). Furthermore, RORC expression showed prognostic value in many cancers, especially in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), brain lower grade glioma (LGG), and mesothelioma (MESO). The mutation rate of RORC in most cancer types was low, while RORC was hypermethylated or hypomethylated in multiple cancers. RORC was associated with a variety of biological processes and signal transduction pathways in various cancers. Furthermore, RORC was strongly correlated with immune cell infiltration, immunomodulators, and CIT biomarkers. However, no significant association was found between RORC and CIT response in the three CIT cohorts. Conclusion Our findings revealed the potential immunotherapeutic value of RORC for various cancers and provides preliminary evidence for the application of RORC in CIT.

Expression signature, prognosis value and immune characteristics of cathepsin F in non-small cell lung cancer identified by bioinformatics assessment

Background

In recent years, immunotherapies and targeted therapies contribute to population-level improvement in NSCLC cancer-specific survival, however, the two novel therapeutic options have mainly benefit patients containing mutated driven genes. Thus, to explore other potential genes related with immunity or targeted therapies may provide novel options to improve survival of lung cancer patients without mutated driven genes. CTSF is unique in human cysteine proteinases. Presently, CTSF has been detected in several cell lines of lung cancer, but its role in progression and prognosis of lung cancer remains unclear.

Methods

CTSF expression and clinical datasets of lung cancer patients were obtained from GTEx, TIMER, CCLE, THPA, and TCGA, respectively. Association of CTSF expression with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis of lung cancer patients was analyzed using UALCAN and Kaplan–Meier Plotter, respectively. LinkedOmics were used to analyze correlation between CTSF and CTSF co-expressed genes. Protein–protein interaction and gene–gene interaction were analyzed using STRING and GeneMANIA, respectively. Association of CTSF with molecular markers of immune cells and immunomodulators was analyzed with Immunedeconv and TISIDB, respectively.

Results

CTSF expression was currently only available for patients with NSCLC. Compared to normal tissues, CTSF was downregulated in NSCLC samples and high expressed CTSF was correlated with favorable prognosis of NSCLC. Additionally, CTSF expression was correlated with that of immune cell molecular markers and immunomodulators both in LUAD and LUSC. Noticeably, high expression of CTSF-related CTLA-4 was found to be associated with better OS of LUAD patients. Increased expression of CTSF-related LAG-3 was related with poor prognosis of LUAD patients while there was no association between CTSF-related PD-1/PD-L1 and prognosis of LUAD patients. Moreover, increased expression of CTSF-related CD27 was related with poor prognosis of LUAD patients while favorable prognosis of LUSC patients.

Conclusions

CTSF might play an anti-tumor effect via regulating immune response of NSCLC.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12890-021-01796-w.

Leukemic progenitor cells enable immunosuppression and post-chemotherapy relapse via IL-36-inflammatory monocyte axis

Chemotherapy can effectively reduce the leukemic burden and restore immune cell production in most acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases. Nevertheless, endogenous immunosurveillance usually fails to recover after chemotherapy, permitting relapse. The underlying mechanisms of this therapeutic failure have remained poorly understood. Here, we show that abnormal IL-36 production activated by NF-κB is an essential feature of mouse and human leukemic progenitor cells (LPs). Mechanistically, IL-36 directly activates inflammatory monocytes (IMs) in bone marrow, which then precludes clearance of leukemia mediated by CD8⁺ T cells and facilitates LP growth. While sparing IMs, common chemotherapeutic agents stimulate IL-36 production from residual LPs via caspase-1 activation, thereby enabling the persistence of this immunosuppressive IL-36–IM axis after chemotherapy. Furthermore, IM depletion by trabectedin, with chemotherapy and PD-1 blockade, can synergistically restrict AML progression and relapse. Collectively, these results suggest inhibition of the IL-36–IM axis as a potential strategy for improving AML treatment.

Cell signaling pathways as molecular targets to eliminate AML stem cells

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains the most lethal of leukemias and a small population of cells called leukemic stem cells (LSCs) has been associated with disease relapses. Some cell signaling pathways play an important role in AML survival, proliferation and self-renewal properties and are abnormally activated or suppressed in LSCs. This includes the NF-κB, Wnt/β-catenin, Hedgehog, Notch, EGFR, JAK/STAT, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, TGF/SMAD and PPAR pathways. This review aimed to discuss these pathways as molecular targets for eliminating AML LSCs. Herein, inhibitors/activators of these pathways were summarized as a potential new anti-AML therapy capable of eliminating LSCs to guide future researches. The clinical use of cell signaling pathways data can be useful to enhance the anti-AML therapy.

Using Machine Learning Modeling to Explore New Immune-Related Prognostic Markers in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

OBJECTIVE

To find new immune-related prognostic markers for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS

We found GSE14814 is related to NSCLC in GEO database. The non-small cell lung cancer observation (NSCLC-OBS) group was evaluated for immunity and divided into high and low groups for differential gene screening according to the score of immune evaluation. A single factor COX regression analysis was performed to select the genes related to prognosis. A prognostic model was constructed by machine learning, and test whether the model has a test efficacy for prognosis. A chip-in-chip non-small cell lung cancer chemotherapy (NSCLC-ACT) sample was used as a validation dataset for the same validation and prognostic analysis of the model. The coexpression genes of hub genes were obtained by pearson analysis and gene enrichment, function enrichment and protein interaction analysis. The tumor samples of patients with different clinical stages were detected by immunohistochemistry and the expression difference of prognostic genes in tumor tissues of patients with different stages was compared.

RESULTS

By screening, we found that LYN, C3, COPG2IT1, HLA.DQA1, and TNFRSF17 is closely related to prognosis. After machine learning, we constructed the immune prognosis model from these 5 genes, and the model AUC values were greater than 0.9 at three time periods of 1, 3, and 5 years; the total survival period of the low-risk group was significantly better than that of the high-risk group. The results of prognosis analysis in ACT samples were consistent with OBS groups. The coexpression genes are mainly involved B cell receptor signaling pathway and are mainly enriched in apoptotic cell clearance. Prognostic key genes are highly correlated with PDCD1, PDCD1LG2, LAG3, and CTLA4 immune checkpoints. The immunohistochemical results showed that the expression of COPG2IT1 and HLA.DQA1 in stage III increased significantly and the expression of LYN, C3, and TNFRSF17 in stage III decreased significantly compared with that of stage I. The experimental results are consistent with the previous analysis.

CONCLUSION

LYN, C3, COPG2IT1, LA.DQA1, and NFRSF17 may be new immune markers to judge the prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Evaluation of Cytotoxicity and α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity of Amide and Polyamino-Derivatives of Lupane Triterpenoids

A series of two new and twenty earlier synthesized branched extra-amino-triterpenoids obtained by the direct coupling of betulinic/betulonic acids with polymethylenpolyamines, or by the cyanoethylation of lupane type alcohols, oximes, amines, and amides with the following reduction were evaluated for cytotoxicity toward the NCI-60 cancer cell line panel, α-glucosidase inhibitory, and antimicrobial activities. Lupane carboxamides, conjugates with diaminopropane, triethylenetetramine, and branched C3-cyanoethylated polyamine methyl betulonate showed high cytotoxic activity against most of the tested cancer cell lines with GI50 that ranged from 1.09 to 54.40 µM. Betulonic acid C28-conjugate with triethylenetetramine and C3,C28-bis-aminopropoxy-betulin were found to be potent micromolar inhibitors of yeast α-glucosidase and to simultaneously inhibit the endosomal reticulum α-glucosidase, rendering them as potentially capable to suppress tumor invasiveness and neovascularization, in addition to the direct cytotoxicity. Plausible mechanisms of cytotoxic action and underlying disrupted molecular pathways were elucidated with CellMinner pattern analysis and Gene Ontology enrichment analysis, according to which the lead compounds exert multi-target antiproliferative activity associated with oxidative stress induction and chromatin structure alteration. The betulonic acid diethylentriamine conjugate showed partial activity against methicillin-resistant S. aureus and the fungi C. neoformans. These results show that triterpenic polyamines, being analogs of steroidal squalamine and trodusquemine, are important substances for the search of new drugs with anticancer, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial activities.

COMUNET: a tool to explore and visualize intercellular communication

MOTIVATION

Intercellular communication plays an essential role in multicellular organisms and several algorithms to analyze it from single-cell transcriptional data have been recently published, but the results are often hard to visualize and interpret.

RESULTS

We developed Cell cOmmunication exploration with MUltiplex NETworks (COMUNET), a tool that streamlines the interpretation of the results from cell-cell communication analyses. COMUNET uses multiplex networks to represent and cluster all potential communication patterns between cell types. The algorithm also enables the search for specific patterns of communication and can perform comparative analysis between two biological conditions. To exemplify its use, here we apply COMUNET to investigate cell communication patterns in single-cell transcriptomic datasets from mouse embryos and from an acute myeloid leukemia patient at diagnosis and after treatment.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION

Our algorithm is implemented in an R package available from https://github.com/ScialdoneLab/COMUNET, along with all the code to perform the analyses reported here.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

CXCR4 Signaling Has a CXCL12-Independent Essential Role in Murine MLL-AF9-Driven Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is defined by an accumulation of immature myeloid blasts in the bone marrow. To identify key dependencies of AML stem cells in vivo, here we use a CRISPR-Cas9 screen targeting cell surface genes in a syngeneic MLL-AF9 AML mouse model and show that CXCR4 is a top cell surface regulator of AML cell growth and survival. Deletion of Cxcr4 in AML cells eradicates leukemia cells in vivo without impairing their homing to the bone marrow. In contrast, the CXCR4 ligand CXCL12 is dispensable for leukemia development in recipient mice. Moreover, expression of mutated Cxcr4 variants reveals that CXCR4 signaling is essential for leukemia cells. Notably, loss of CXCR4 signaling in leukemia cells leads to oxidative stress and differentiation in vivo. Taken together, our results identify CXCR4 signaling as essential for AML stem cells by protecting them from differentiation independent of CXCL12 stimulation.