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Shi W, Xu C, Lei P, Sun X, Song M, Guo Y, Song W, Li Y, Yu L, Zhang H, Wang H, Zhang DL. A correlation study of adhesion G protein-coupled receptors as potential therapeutic targets for breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2024:10.1007/s10549-024-07373-z. [PMID: 38834774 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-024-07373-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adhesion G protein-coupled receptors (aGPCRs), a distinctive subset of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily, play crucial roles in various physiological and pathological processes, with implications in tumor development. Despite the global prevalence of breast cancer (BRCA), specific aGPCRs as potential drug targets or biomarkers remain underexplored. METHODS UALCAN, GEPIA, Kaplan-Meier Plotter, MethSurv, cBiopportal, String, GeneMANIA, DAVID, Timer, Metascape, and qPCR were applied in this work. RESULTS Our analysis revealed significantly increased transcriptional levels of ADGRB2, ADGRC1, ADGRC2, ADGRC3, ADGRE1, ADGRF2, ADGRF4, and ADGRL1 in BRCA primary tumors. Further analysis indicated a significant correlation between the expressions of certain aGPCRs and the pathological stage of BRCA. High expression of ADGRA1, ADGRF2, ADGRF4, ADGRG1, ADGRG2, ADGRG4, ADGRG6, and ADGRG7 was significantly correlated with poor overall survival (OS) in BRCA patients. Additionally, high expression of ADGRF2 and ADGRF4 indicated inferior recurrence-free survival (RFS) in BRCA patients. The RT-qPCR experiments also confirmed that the mRNA levels of ADGRF2 and ADGRF4 were higher in BRCA cells and tissues. Functional analysis highlighted the diverse roles of aGPCRs, encompassing GPCR signaling and metabolic energy reserves. Moreover, aGPCRs may exert influence or actively participate in the development of BRCA through their impact on immune status. CONCLUSION aGPCRs, particularly ADGRF2 and ADGRF4, hold promise as immunotherapeutic targets and prognostic biomarkers in BRCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenning Shi
- Department of Protein and Antibody Engineering, School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China
| | - Cong Xu
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China
| | - Ping Lei
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yantai Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China
| | - Xiaoli Sun
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yantai Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China
| | - Mengju Song
- Department of Protein and Antibody Engineering, School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China
| | - Yacong Guo
- Department of Protein and Antibody Engineering, School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China
| | - Wenxuan Song
- Department of Protein and Antibody Engineering, School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China
| | - Yizheng Li
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China
| | - Liting Yu
- Department of Protein and Antibody Engineering, School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China
| | - Hui Zhang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Taian, 271000, China.
| | - Hongmei Wang
- Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, No.1, Middle Century Avenue, Chenyangzhai, Xianyang, 712046, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Dao-Lai Zhang
- Department of Protein and Antibody Engineering, School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, China.
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Tang Z, Gaskins AJ, Hood RB, Ford JB, Hauser R, Smith AK, Everson TM. Former smoking associated with epigenetic modifications in human granulosa cells among women undergoing assisted reproduction. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5009. [PMID: 38424222 PMCID: PMC10904848 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54957-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Smoking exposure during adulthood can disrupt oocyte development in women, contributing to infertility and possibly adverse birth outcomes. Some of these effects may be reflected in epigenome profiles in granulosa cells (GCs) in human follicular fluid. We compared the epigenetic modifications throughout the genome in GCs from women who were former (N = 15) versus never smokers (N = 44) undergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ART). This study included 59 women undergoing ART. Smoking history including time since quitting was determined by questionnaire. GCs were collected during oocyte retrieval and DNA methylation (DNAm) levels were profiled using the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. We performed an epigenome-wide association study with robust linear models, regressing DNAm level at individual loci on smoking status, adjusting for age, ovarian stimulation protocol, and three surrogate variables. We performed differentially methylated regions (DMRs) analysis and over-representation analysis of the identified CpGs and corresponding gene set. 81 CpGs were differentially methylated among former smokers compared to never smokers (FDR < 0.05). We identified 2 significant DMRs (KCNQ1 and RHBDD2). The former smoking-associated genes were enriched in oxytocin signaling, adrenergic signaling in cardiomyocytes, platelet activation, axon guidance, and chemokine signaling pathway. These epigenetic variations have been associated with inflammatory responses, reproductive outcomes, cancer development, neurodevelopmental disorder, and cardiometabolic health. Secondarily, we examined the relationships between time since quitting and DNAm at significant CpGs. We observed three CpGs in negative associations with the length of quitting smoking (p < 0.05), which were cg04254052 (KCNIP1), cg22875371 (OGDHL), and cg27289628 (LOC148145), while one in positive association, which was cg13487862 (PLXNB1). As a pilot study, we demonstrated epigenetic modifications associated with former smoking in GCs. The study is informative to potential biological pathways underlying the documented association between smoking and female infertility and biomarker discovery for smoking-associated reproductive outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyin Tang
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Audrey J Gaskins
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Robert B Hood
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jennifer B Ford
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Russ Hauser
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alicia K Smith
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Todd M Everson
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Du H, Wang H, Luo Y, Jiao Y, Wu J, Dong S, Du D. An integrated analysis of bulk and single-cell sequencing data reveals that EMP1 +/COL3A1 + fibroblasts contribute to the bone metastasis process in breast, prostate, and renal cancers. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1313536. [PMID: 38187400 PMCID: PMC10770257 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1313536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Bone metastasis (BoM) occurs when cancer cells spread from their primary sites to a bone. Currently, the mechanism underlying this metastasis process remains unclear. Methods In this project, through an integrated analysis of bulk-sequencing and single-cell RNA transcriptomic data, we explored the BoM-related features in tumor microenvironments of different tumors. Results We first identified 34 up-regulated genes during the BoM process in breast cancer, and further explored their expression status among different components in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of BoM samples. Enriched EMP1+ fibroblasts were found in BoM samples, and a COL3A1-ADGRG1 communication between these fibroblasts and cancer cells was identified which might facilitate the BoM process. Moreover, a significant correlation between EMP1 and COL3A1 was identified in these fibroblasts, confirming the potential connection of these genes during the BoM process. Furthermore, the existence of these EMP1+/COL3A1+ fibroblasts was also verified in prostate cancer and renal cancer BoM samples, suggesting the importance of these fibroblasts from a pan-cancer perspective. Discussion This study is the first attempt to investigate the relationship between fibroblasts and BoM process across multi-tumor TMEs. Our findings contribute another perspective in the exploration of BoM mechanism while providing some potential targets for future treatments of tumor metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haoyuan Du
- Department of Orthopedics and Joints, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Hua Wang
- Department of Orthopedics and Joints, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yuwei Luo
- Department of Breast Surgery, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yang Jiao
- Department of Ultrasound, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Jiajun Wu
- Department of Pediatric Research, Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Shaowei Dong
- Department of Pediatric Research, Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Dong Du
- Department of Health Management, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
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Faas F, Nørskov A, Holst PJ, Andersson AM, Qvortrup K, Mathiasen S, Rosenkilde MM. Re-routing GPR56 signalling using Gα 12/13 G protein chimeras. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 2023; 133:378-389. [PMID: 37621135 DOI: 10.1111/bcpt.13935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Adhesion G protein-coupled receptors (aGPCRs) constitute the second largest subclass of the GPCR superfamily. Although canonical GPCRs are explored pharmacologically as drug targets, no clinically approved drugs target the aGPCR family so far. The aGPCR GPR56/ADGRG1 stands out as an especially promising target, given its direct link to the monogenetic disease bilateral frontoparietal polymicrogyria and implications in cancers. Key to understanding GPCR pharmacology has been mapping out intracellular signalling activity. Detection of GPCR signalling in the Gαs /Gαi /Gαq G protein pathways is feasible with second messenger detection systems. However, in the case of Gα12/13 -coupled receptors, like GPR56, signalling detection is more challenging due to the lack of direct second messenger generation. To overcome this challenge, we engineered a Gαq chimera to translate Gα12/13 signalling. We show the ability of the chimeric GαΔ6q12myr and GαΔ6q13myr to translate basal Gα12/13 signalling of GPR56 to a Gαq readout in transcription factor luciferase reporter systems and show that the established peptide ligands (P7 and P19) function to enhance this signal. We further demonstrate the ability to directly influence the generation of second messengers in inositol-3-phosphate assays. In the future, these chimeric G proteins could facilitate basic functional studies, drug screenings and deorphanization of other aGPCRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Faas
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Amalie Nørskov
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Peter J Holst
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- InProTher APS, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Katrine Qvortrup
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Signe Mathiasen
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette M Rosenkilde
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Quantitative Evaluation of Stem-like Markers of Human Glioblastoma Using Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Datasets. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15051557. [PMID: 36900348 PMCID: PMC10001303 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15051557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Targeting glioblastoma (GBM) stem-like cells (GSCs) is a common interest in both the laboratory investigation and clinical treatment of GBM. Most of the currently applied GBM stem-like markers lack validation and comparison with common standards regarding their efficiency and feasibility in various targeting methods. Using single-cell RNA sequencing datasets from 37 GBM patients, we obtained a large pool of 2173 GBM stem-like marker candidates. To evaluate and select these candidates quantitatively, we characterized the efficiency of the candidate markers in targeting the GBM stem-like cells by their frequencies and significance of being the stem-like cluster markers. This was followed by further selection based on either their differential expression in GBM stem-like cells compared with normal brain cells or their relative expression level compared with other expressed genes. The cellular location of the translated protein was also considered. Different combinations of selection criteria highlight different markers for different application scenarios. By comparing the commonly used GSCs marker CD133 (PROM1) with markers selected by our method regarding their universality, significance, and abundance, we revealed the limitations of CD133 as a GBM stem-like marker. Overall, we propose BCAN, PTPRZ1, SOX4, etc. for laboratory-based assays with samples free of normal cells. For in vivo targeting applications that require high efficiency in targeting the stem-like subtype, the ability to distinguish GSCs from normal brain cells, and a high expression level, we recommend the intracellular marker TUBB3 and the surface markers PTPRS and GPR56.
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Roles of Focal Adhesion Kinase PTK2 and Integrin αIIbβ3 Signaling in Collagen- and GPVI-Dependent Thrombus Formation under Shear. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23158688. [PMID: 35955827 PMCID: PMC9369275 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23158688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Glycoprotein (GP)VI and integrin αIIbβ3 are key signaling receptors in collagen-dependent platelet aggregation and in arterial thrombus formation under shear. The multiple downstream signaling pathways are still poorly understood. Here, we focused on disclosing the integrin-dependent roles of focal adhesion kinase (protein tyrosine kinase 2, PTK2), the shear-dependent collagen receptor GPR56 (ADGRG1 gene), and calcium and integrin-binding protein 1 (CIB1). We designed and synthetized peptides that interfered with integrin αIIb binding (pCIB and pCIBm) or mimicked the activation of GPR56 (pGRP). The results show that the combination of pGRP with PTK2 inhibition or of pGRP with pCIB > pCIBm in additive ways suppressed collagen- and GPVI-dependent platelet activation, thrombus buildup, and contraction. Microscopic thrombus formation was assessed by eight parameters (with script descriptions enclosed). The suppressive rather than activating effects of pGRP were confined to blood flow at a high shear rate. Blockage of PTK2 or interference of CIB1 no more than slightly affected thrombus formation at a low shear rate. Peptides did not influence GPVI-induced aggregation and Ca2+ signaling in the absence of shear. Together, these data reveal a shear-dependent signaling axis of PTK2, integrin αIIbβ3, and CIB1 in collagen- and GPVI-dependent thrombus formation, which is modulated by GPR56 and exclusively at high shear. This work thereby supports the role of PTK2 in integrin αIIbβ3 activation and signaling.
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