An Enhancer-Based Analysis Revealed a New Function of Androgen Receptor in Tumor Cell Immune Evasion

Population-enriched innate immune variants may identify candidate gene targets at the intersection of cancer and cardio-metabolic disease

Both cancer and cardio-metabolic disease disparities exist among specific populations in the US. For example, African Americans experience the highest rates of breast and prostate cancer mortality and the highest incidence of obesity. Native and Hispanic Americans experience the highest rates of liver cancer mortality. At the same time, Pacific Islanders have the highest death rate attributed to type 2 diabetes (T2D), and Asian Americans experience the highest incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cancers induced by infectious agents. Notably, the pathologic progression of both cancer and cardio-metabolic diseases involves innate immunity and mechanisms of inflammation. Innate immunity in individuals is established through genetic inheritance and external stimuli to respond to environmental threats and stresses such as pathogen exposure. Further, individual genomes contain characteristic genetic markers associated with one or more geographic ancestries (ethnic groups), including protective innate immune genetic programming optimized for survival in their corresponding ancestral environment(s). This perspective explores evidence related to our working hypothesis that genetic variations in innate immune genes, particularly those that are commonly found but unevenly distributed between populations, are associated with disparities between populations in both cancer and cardio-metabolic diseases. Identifying conventional and unconventional innate immune genes that fit this profile may provide critical insights into the underlying mechanisms that connect these two families of complex diseases and offer novel targets for precision-based treatment of cancer and/or cardio-metabolic disease.

CD155 and its receptors in cancer immune escape and immunotherapy

In recent years, there have been multiple breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy, with immune checkpoint inhibitors becoming the most promising treatment strategy. However, available drugs are not always effective. As an emerging immune checkpoint molecule, CD155 has become an important target for immunotherapy. This review describes the structure and function of CD155, its receptors TIGIT, CD96, and CD226, and summarizes that CD155 expressed by tumor cells can upregulate its expression through the DNA damage response pathway and Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK signaling pathway. This review also elaborates the mechanism of immune escape after binding CD155 to its receptors TIGIT, CD96, and CD226, and summarizes the current progress of immunotherapy research regarding CD155 and its receptors. Besides, it also discusses the future direction of checkpoint immunotherapy.

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and Predictive Markers of Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: A Systematic Review

Around 40-50% of all triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients achieve a pathological complete response (pCR) after treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The identification of biomarkers predicting the response to NAC could be helpful for personalized treatment. This systematic review provides an overview of putative biomarkers at baseline that are predictive for a pCR following NAC. Embase, Medline and Web of Science were searched for articles published between January 2010 and August 2022. The articles had to meet the following criteria: patients with primary invasive TNBC without distant metastases and patients must have received NAC. In total, 2045 articles were screened by two reviewers resulting in the inclusion of 92 articles. Overall, the most frequently reported biomarkers associated with a pCR were a high expression of Ki-67, an expression of PD-L1 and the abundance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, particularly CD8+ T cells, and corresponding immune gene signatures. In addition, our review reveals proteomic, genomic and transcriptomic markers that relate to cancer cells, the tumor microenvironment and the peripheral blood, which also affect chemo-sensitivity. We conclude that a prediction model based on a combination of tumor and immune markers is likely to better stratify TNBC patients with respect to NAC response.

Role of Interleukin-1 family in bone metastasis of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most fatal diseases in male patients with high bone metastatic potential. Bone metastasis severely shortens overall survival and brings skeletal-related events (SREs) which reduces the life quality of patients, and this situation is currently regarded as irreversible and incurable. The progression and metastasis of PCa are found to be closely associated with inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. As pivotal members of inflammatory cytokines, Interleukin-1 (IL-1) family plays a crucial role in this process. Elevated expression of IL-1 family was detected in PCa patients with bone metastasis, and accumulating evidences proved that IL-1 family could exert vital effects on the progression and bone metastasis of many cancers, while some members have dual effects. In this review, we discuss the role of IL-1 family in the bone metastasis of PCa. Furthermore, we demonstrate that many members of IL-1 family could act as pivotal biomarkers to predict the clinical stage and prognosis of PCa patients. More importantly, we have elucidated the role of IL-1 family in the bone metastasis of PCa, which could provide potential targets for the treatment of PCa bone metastasis and probable directions for future research.