IGFBP-3/IGFBP-3 Receptor System as an Anti-Tumor and Anti-Metastatic Signaling in Cancer

Molecular mechanism of anticancer effect of heat shock protein 90 inhibitor BIIB021 in human bladder cancer cell line

Bladder cancer is a type of urologic malignancy that exhibits significant morbidity, mortality, and treatment costs. Inhibition of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) activity has been a promising pharmacological strategy for blocking of bladder cancer pathogenesis. BIIB021 is a next-generation HSP90 inhibitor which interrupts ATP hydrolysis process of HSP90 and inhibits the stabilization and correct folding of client proteins. In current study, we aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of the anticancer activity of BIIB021 in human bladder cancer T24 cells. Our results revealed that nanomolar concentration of BIIB021 decreased viability of T24 cell. BIIB021 downregulated HSP90 expression in T24 cells and inhibited the refolding activity of luciferase in the presence of T24 cell lysate. PCR array data indicated a significant alteration in transcript levels of cancer-related genes involved in metastases, apoptotic cell death, cell cycle, cellular senescence, DNA damage and repair mechanisms, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, hypoxia, telomeres and telomerase, and cancer metabolism pathways in T24 cells. All findings hypothesize that BIIB021 could exhibit as effective HSP90 inhibitor in the future for treatment of bladder cancer patients.

Effects of natural extract interventions in prostate cancer: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Over years, there has been a widespread quest for effective dietary patterns and natural extracts to mitigate prostate cancer risk. However, despite numerous experimental studies conducted on various natural extracts, the evidence substantiating their efficacy remains largely insufficient. This dearth of compelling evidence presents a significant challenge in advocating for their widespread use as preventive measures against prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVE

Our study endeavors to undertake a network meta-analysis to evaluate the influence of natural extracts on prostate cancer.

METHODS

Researchers systematically searched through Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases until December 2023. The main focus was on assessing primary outcomes comprising prostate-specific antigen (PSA), insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). We conducted data analysis utilizing StataMP 15.0 software. Therapeutic effects were ranked based on the probability values derived from Surface Under the Cumulative Ranking curve (SUCRA). Additionally, cluster analysis was employed to assess the impacts of natural extracts on three distinct outcomes.

RESULTS

Following screening procedures, the 28 eligible studies were incorporated, the selected studies encompassed 1,566 prostate cancer patients and evaluated 16 different natural extract treatments. Specifically, 24 trials included PSA indicators, 10 included IGF-1 indicators, and 8 included IGFBP-3 indicators. The findings revealed that, based on the SUCRA values, the combined therapy of silybin with selenium (74%) appears to be the most effective approach for reducing serum PSA levels. Simultaneously, silybin alone (84.6%) stands out as the most promising option for decreasing serum IGF-1 levels. Lastly, concerning IGFBP-3, silybin alone (67.7%) emerges as the optimal choice. Twelve studies provided comprehensive information on adverse drug reactions/events (ADR/ADE), whereas five articles did not report any significant ADR/ADE.

CONCLUSION

The NMA suggests that, compared to placebo, utilizing silybin either alone or in combination with selenium has been shown to enhance therapeutic effects, offering potential benefits to patients with prostate cancer. This study can offer valuable insights for prostate patients considering natural extract treatments. Further evidence is required to confirm the safety profile of these treatments.

A new biomarker panel for differential diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma: Results from an exploratory analysis

INTRODUCTION

Diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) can be challenging due to unclear imaging criteria and difficulty obtaining adequate tissue biopsy. Although serum cancer antigen 19-9 and carcinoembryonic antigen have been proposed as potential diagnostic aids, their use remains limited by insufficient sensitivity and specificity. This exploratory analysis aimed to identify individual- and combinations of serum biomarkers to distinguish CCA from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and chronic liver disease (CLD) controls using samples from a published study.

METHODS

This prospective, multicenter, case-control study included patients aged ≥18 years at high-risk of HCC. Serum and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid-plasma samples were collected prior to any treatment and confirmed diagnosis of HCC or CCA. Fourteen biomarkers (measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassays or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays) were subjected to univariate analysis and 13 included in a multivariate analysis (per selected combinations and exhaustive search).

RESULTS

Overall, 55 CCA, 306 HCC, and 733 CLD control samples were analyzed. For distinguishing CCA from HCC, alpha-fetoprotein and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) showed the best individual performance (area under the curve (AUC) 86.6% and 84.4%, respectively); tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) was most able to distinguish CCA from CLD (AUC 94.5%) and from HCC  +  CLD (AUC 88.6%). The combination of MMP-2 and TIMP-1 was the best-performing two-marker panel, with AUC >90% for all comparisons.

CONCLUSION

MMP-2 and TIMP-1 are promising biomarkers that could support differential diagnosis of CCA. Incorporating these assays into the diagnostic algorithm could provide additional diagnostic information in a non-invasive, rapid manner, and could supplement existing diagnostic methods.

FK228 suppress the growth of human malignant pleural mesothelioma tumor independent to epithelioid or non-epithelioid histology

Human malignant pleural mesothelioma (hMPM) is an aggressive, rare disease with a poor prognosis. Histologically, MPM is categorized into epithelioid, biphasic, and sarcomatoid subtypes, with the epithelioid subtype generally displaying a better response to treatment. Conversely, effective therapies for the non-epithelioid subtypes are limited. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of FK228, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, in the suppression of hMPM tumor growth. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the histological and molecular characteristics of two MPM cell lines, CRL-5820 (epithelioid) and CRL-5946 (non-epithelioid). CRL-5946 cells and non-epithelioid patient-derived xenografted mice exhibited heightened growth rates compared to those with epithelioid MPM. Both CRL-5946 cells and non-epithelioid mice displayed a poor response to cisplatin. However, FK228 markedly inhibited the growth of both epithelioid and non-epithelioid tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. Cell cycle analysis revealed FK228-induced G1/S and mitotic arrest in MPM cells. Caspase inhibitor experiments demonstrated that FK228-triggered apoptosis occurred via a caspase-dependent pathway in CRL-5946 but not in CRL-5820 cells. Additionally, a cytokine array analysis showed that FK228 reduced the release of growth factors, including platelet-derived and vascular endothelial growth factors, specifically in CRL-5946 cells. These results indicate that FK228 exhibits therapeutic potential in MPM by inducing cytotoxicity and modulating the tumor microenvironment, potentially benefiting both epithelioid and non-epithelioid subtypes.

The role of IGFBP-3 in tumor development and progression: enlightenment for diagnosis and treatment

IGFBP-3 is aberrantly expressed in many tumor types, and its serum and tumor tissue levels provide auxiliary information for assessing the degree of tumor malignancy and patient prognosis, making it a potential therapeutic target for human malignancies and conferring it remarkable clinical value for determining patient prognosis. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the aberrant expression, diverse biological effects, and clinical implications of IGFBP-3 in tumors and its role as a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic target for tumors. In addition, we summarize the signaling pathways through which IGFBP-3 exerts its effects. IGFBP-3 comprises an N-terminal, an intermediate region, and a C-terminal structural domain, each exerting different biological effects in several tumor cell types in an IGF-dependent/non-independent manner. IGFBP-3 shares an intricate relationship with the tumor microenvironment, thereby affecting tumor growth. Overall, IGFBP-3 is an essential regulatory factor that mediates tumor occurrence and progression. Gaining deeper insights into the fundamental characteristics of IGFBP-3 and its role in various tumor types will provide new perspectives and allow for the development of novel strategies for cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic evaluation.

Unraveling the unfolded protein response signature: implications for tumor immune microenvironment heterogeneity and clinical prognosis in stomach cancer

BACKGROUND

Stomach cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally due to its high grade and poor response to treatment. Understanding the molecular network driving the rapid progression of stomach cancer is crucial for improving patient outcomes.

METHODS

This study aimed to investigate the role of unfolded protein response (UPR) related genes in stomach cancer and their potential as prognostic biomarkers. RNA expression data and clinical follow-up information were obtained from the TCGA and GEO databases. An unsupervised clustering algorithm was used to identify UPR genomic subtypes in stomach cancer. Functional enrichment analysis, immune landscape analysis, and chemotherapy benefit prediction were conducted for each subtype. A prognostic model based on UPR-related genes was developed and validated using LASSO-Cox regression, and a multivariate nomogram was created. Key gene expression analyses in pan-cancer and in vitro experiments were performed to further investigate the role of the identified genes in cancer progression.

RESULTS

A total of 375 stomach cancer patients were included in this study. Analysis of 113 UPR-related genes revealed their close functional correlation and significant enrichment in protein modification, transport, and RNA degradation pathways. Unsupervised clustering identified two molecular subtypes with significant differences in prognosis and gene expression profiles. Immune landscape analysis showed that UPR may influence the composition of the tumor immune microenvironment. Chemotherapy sensitivity analysis indicated that patients in the C2 molecular subtype were more responsive to chemotherapy compared to those in the C1 molecular subtype. A prognostic signature consisting of seven UPR-related genes was constructed and validated, and an independent prognostic nomogram was developed. The gene IGFBP1, which had the highest weight coefficient in the prognostic signature, was found to promote the malignant phenotype of stomach cancer cells, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic target.

CONCLUSIONS

The study developed a UPR-related gene classifier and risk signature for predicting survival in stomach cancer, identifying IGFBP1 as a key factor promoting the disease's malignancy and a potential therapeutic target. IGFBP1's role in enhancing cancer cell adaptation to endoplasmic reticulum stress suggests its importance in stomach cancer prognosis and treatment.

Histone deacetylase 9-mediated phenotypic transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells is a potential target for treating aortic aneurysm/dissection

Aortic aneurysm/dissection (AAD) is a serious cardiovascular condition characterized by rapid onset and high mortality rates. Currently, no effective drug treatment options are known for AAD. AAD pathogenesis is associated with the phenotypic transformation and abnormal proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). However, endogenous factors that contribute to AAD progression remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the role of histone deacetylase 9 (HDAC9) in AAD pathogenesis. HDAC9 expression was considerably increased in human thoracic aortic dissection specimens. Using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and chromatin immunoprecipitation, we demonstrated that HDAC9 transcriptionally inhibited the expression of superoxide dismutase 2 and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3, which are critically involved in various signaling pathways. Furthermore, HDAC9 triggered the transformation of VSMCs from a systolic to synthetic phenotype, increasing their proliferation and migration abilities and suppressing their apoptosis. Consistent with these results, in vivo experiments revealed that TMP195, a pharmacological inhibitor of HDAC9, suppressed the formation of the β-aminopropionitrile-induced AAD phenotype in mice. Our findings indicate that HDAC9 may be a novel endogenous risk factor that promotes the onset of AAD by mediating the phenotypic transformation of VSMCs. Therefore, HDAC9 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for drug-based AAD treatment. Furthermore, TMP195 holds potential as a therapeutic agent for AAD treatment.

Epigenetic regulation of TGF-β pathway and its role in radiation response

PURPOSE

Transforming growth factor (TGF-β) plays a dual role in tumor progression as well as a pivotal role in radiation response. TGF-β-related epigenetic regulations, including DNA methylation, histone modifications (including methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination), chromatin remodeling and non-coding RNA regulation, have been found to affect the occurrence and development of tumors as well as their radiation response in multiple dimensions. Due to the significance of radiotherapy in tumor treatment and the essential roles of TGF-β signaling in radiation response, it is important to better understand the role of epigenetic regulation mechanisms mediated by TGF-β signaling pathways in radiation-induced targeted and non-targeted effects.

CONCLUSIONS

By revealing the epigenetic mechanism related to TGF-β-mediated radiation response, summarizing the existing relevant adjuvant strategies for radiotherapy based on TGF-β signaling, and discovering potential therapeutic targets, we hope to provide a new perspective for improving clinical treatment.

Skin advanced glycation end-products as indicators of the metabolic profile in diabetes mellitus: correlations with glycemic control, liver phenotypes and metabolic biomarkers

INTRODUCTION

The production of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) is a key pathomechanism related to the complications of diabetes mellitus. The measurement of HbA1c as one of the AGEs is widely used in the clinic, but also other proteins undergo glycation in the course of diabetes. Here, we measure skin AGEs (SAGEs) in patients with diabetes type 1 (DM1) and type 2 (DM2) and correlate them with metabolic markers as well as non-invasively measured liver fibrosis and steatosis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, a total of 64 patients with either DM1 or DM2 and 28 healthy controls were recruited. SAGEs were measured using autofluorescence (AGE Reader). Liver fibrosis and steatosis were quantified using transient elastography, which determines liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP). FGF19, FGF21 and GDF-15 were measured in blood samples using ELISA.

RESULTS

SAGEs were elevated in both groups of patients with diabetes as compared to healthy controls (both p < 0.001) and were higher in patients with DM2 in comparison to DM1 (p = 0.006). SAGEs correlated positively with HbA1c (r = 0.404, p < 0.001), CAP (r = 0.260, p = 0.016) and LSM (r = 0.356, p < 0.001), and negatively with insulin growth factor binding protein 3 (p < 0.001). We also detected a positive correlation between GDF15 and SAGEs (r = 0.469, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

SAGEs are significantly elevated in patients with both DM types 1 and 2 and correlate with metabolic markers, including HbA1c and GDF15. They might also help to detect patients with advanced liver injury in the setting of diabetes.

Role of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Receptor in Tobacco Smoking-Associated Lung Cancer Development

Cancer remains a significant global health concern, with lung cancer consistently leading as one of the most common malignancies. Genetic aberrations involving receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are known to be associated with cancer initiation and development, but RTK involvement in smoking-associated lung cancer cases is not well understood. The Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Receptor (IGF-1R) is a receptor that plays a critical role in lung cancer development. Its signaling pathway affects the growth and survival of cancer cells, and high expression is linked to poor prognosis and resistance to treatment. Several reports have shown that by activating IGF-1R, tobacco smoke-related carcinogens promote lung cancer and chemotherapy resistance. However, the relationship between IGF-1R and cancer is complex and can vary depending on the type of cancer. Ongoing investigations are focused on developing therapeutic strategies to target IGF-1R and overcome chemotherapy resistance. Overall, this review explores the intricate connections between tobacco smoke-specific carcinogens and the IGF-1R pathway in lung carcinogenesis. This review further highlights the challenges in using IGF-1R inhibitors as targeted therapy for lung cancer due to structural similarities with insulin receptors. Overcoming these obstacles may require a comprehensive approach combining IGF-1R inhibition with other selective agents for successful cancer treatment.

Investigating the clinical role and prognostic value of genes related to insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway in thyroid cancer

BACKGROUND

Thyroid cancer (THCA) is the most common endocrine malignancy having a female predominance. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway contributed to the unregulated cell proliferation in multiple malignancies. We aimed to explore the IGF-related signature for THCA prognosis.

METHOD

The TCGA-THCA dataset was collected from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) for screening of key prognostic genes. The limma R package was applied for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the clusterProfiler R package was used for the Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG analysis of DEGs. Then, the un/multivariate and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) Cox regression analysis was used for the establishment of RiskScore model. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to verify the model's predictive performance. CIBERSORT and MCP-counter algorithms were applied for immune infiltration analysis. Finally, we analyzed the mutation features and the correlation between the RiskScore and cancer hallmark pathway by using the GSEA.

RESULT

We obtained 5 key RiskScore model genes for patient's risk stratification from the 721 DEGs. ROC analysis indicated that our model is an ideal classifier, the high-risk patients are associated with the poor prognosis, immune infiltration, high tumor mutation burden (TMB), stronger cancer stemness and stronger correlation with the typical cancer-activation pathways. A nomogram combined with multiple clinical features was developed and exhibited excellent performance upon long-term survival quantitative prediction.

CONCLUSIONS

We constructed an excellent prognostic model RiskScore based on IGF-related signature and concluded that the IGF signal pathway may become a reliable prognostic phenotype in THCA intervention.

Elevated expression of WSB2 degrades p53 and activates the IGFBP3-AKT-mTOR-dependent pathway to drive hepatocellular carcinoma

Dysregulation of wild-type p53 turnover is a key cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), yet its mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we report that WD repeat and SOCS box containing protein 2 (WSB2), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, is an independent adverse prognostic factor in HCC patients. WSB2 drives HCC tumorigenesis and lung metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, WSB2 is a new p53 destabilizer that promotes K48-linked p53 polyubiquitination at the Lys291 and Lys292 sites in HCC cells, leading to p53 proteasomal degradation. Degradation of p53 causes IGFBP3-dependent AKT/mTOR signaling activation. Furthermore, WSB2 was found to bind to the p53 tetramerization domain via its SOCS box domain. Targeting mTOR with everolimus, an oral drug, significantly blocked WSB2-triggered HCC tumorigenesis and metastasis in vivo. In clinical samples, high expression of WSB2 was associated with low wild-type p53 expression and high p-mTOR expression. These findings demonstrate that WSB2 is overexpressed and degrades wild-type p53 and then activates the IGFBP3-AKT/mTOR axis, leading to HCC tumorigenesis and lung metastasis, which indicates that targeting mTOR could be a new therapeutic strategy for HCC patients with high WSB2 expression and wild-type p53.

BNIPL is a promising biomarker of laryngeal cancer: novel insights from bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation

BACKGROUND

Laryngeal cancer (LC) is a malignant tumor with high incidence and mortality. We aim to explore key genes as novel biomarkers to find potential target of LC in clinic diagnosis and treatment.

METHODS

We retrieved GSE143224 and GSE84957 datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus database to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Hub genes were identified from protein-protein interaction networks and further determined using receiver operating characteristic curves and principal component analysis. The expression of hub gene was verified by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. The transfection efficiency of BCL2 interacting protein like (BNIPL) was measured by western blot. Proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities were detected by Cell Counting Kit-8, wound-healing, and transwell assays, respectively.

RESULTS

Total 96 overlapping DEGs were screened out from GSE143224 and GSE84957 datasets. Six hub genes (BNIPL, KRT4, IGFBP3, MMP10, MMP3, and TGFBI) were identified from PPI network. BNIPL was selected as the target gene. The receiver operating characteristic curves of BNIPL suggested that the false positive rate was 18.5% and the true positive rate was 81.5%, showing high predictive values for LC. The expression level of BNIPL was downregulated in TU212 and TU686 cells. Additionally, overexpression of BNIPL suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of TU212 and TU686 cells.

CONCLUSION

BNIPL is a novel gene signature involved in LC progression, which exerts an inhibitory effect on LC development. These findings provide a novel insight into the pathogenesis of LC.

DRMref: comprehensive reference map of drug resistance mechanisms in human cancer

Drug resistance poses a significant challenge in cancer treatment. Despite the initial effectiveness of therapies such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, many patients eventually develop resistance. To gain deep insights into the underlying mechanisms, single-cell profiling has been performed to interrogate drug resistance at cell level. Herein, we have built the DRMref database (https://ccsm.uth.edu/DRMref/) to provide comprehensive characterization of drug resistance using single-cell data from drug treatment settings. The current version of DRMref includes 42 single-cell datasets from 30 studies, covering 382 samples, 13 major cancer types, 26 cancer subtypes, 35 treatment regimens and 42 drugs. All datasets in DRMref are browsable and searchable, with detailed annotations provided. Meanwhile, DRMref includes analyses of cellular composition, intratumoral heterogeneity, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, cell-cell interaction and differentially expressed genes in resistant cells. Notably, DRMref investigates the drug resistance mechanisms (e.g. Aberration of Drug's Therapeutic Target, Drug Inactivation by Structure Modification, etc.) in resistant cells. Additional enrichment analysis of hallmark/KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes)/GO (Gene Ontology) pathways, as well as the identification of microRNA, motif and transcription factors involved in resistant cells, is provided in DRMref for user's exploration. Overall, DRMref serves as a unique single-cell-based resource for studying drug resistance, drug combination therapy and discovering novel drug targets.

Dpep Inhibits Cancer Cell Growth and Survival via Shared and Context-Dependent Transcriptome Perturbations

Dpep is a cell-penetrating peptide targeting transcription factors ATF5, CEBPB, and CEBPD, and that selectively promotes the apoptotic death of multiple tumor cell types in vitro and in vivo. As such, it is a potential therapeutic. To better understand its mechanism of action, we used PLATE-seq to compare the transcriptomes of six cancer cell lines of diverse origins before and after Dpep exposure. This revealed a context-dependent pattern of regulated genes that was unique to each line, but that exhibited a number of elements that were shared with other lines. This included the upregulation of pro-apoptotic genes and tumor suppressors as well as the enrichment of genes associated with responses to hypoxia and interferons. Downregulated transcripts included oncogenes and dependency genes, as well as enriched genes associated with different phases of the cell cycle and with DNA repair. In each case, such changes have the potential to lie upstream of apoptotic cell death. We also detected the regulation of unique as well as shared sets of transcription factors in each line, suggesting that Dpep may initiate a cascade of transcriptional responses that culminate in cancer cell death. Such death thus appears to reflect context-dependent, yet shared, disruption of multiple cellular pathways as well as of individual survival-relevant genes.

A prognostic model of drug tolerant persister-related genes in lung adenocarcinoma based on single cell and bulk RNA sequencing data

Background

Acquired resistance to targeted drugs is a major challenge in cancer. The drug-tolerant state has been proposed to be an initial step towards acquisition of real drug-resistance. Drug tolerant persister (DTP) cells are purported to survive during treatment and stay dormant for several years. Single cell sequencing can provide a comprehensive landscape of gene expression in DTP cells, which can facilitate investigation of heterogeneity of a drug tolerant state and identification of new anticancer targets.

Methods

The genetic profiling of DTPs was explored by integrating Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets, and a prognostic signature of DTP-related genes (DTPRGs) in lung adenocarcinoma of TCGA LUAD cohort was constructed. The scores of infiltrating immune cells were calculated and activity of immune-related pathways was evaluated by single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). Functional enrichment analysis of the DTPRGs between low- and high-risk groups was performed. Immune cell subtypes and immune-related pathways were analyzed.

Results

An 11-gene panel (MT2A, UBE2S, CLTB, KRT7, IGFBP3, CTSH, NPC2, HMGA1, HNRNPAB, DTYMK, and IHNA) was established. DTPRGs were mainly correlated with nuclear division, chromosome segregation, and cell cycle pathways. Infiltration of immune cells was lower in the high-risk group while the inflammation-promoting and MCH-class I response pathway had higher activity in the high-risk group. A nomogram was generated with prognostic accuracy, further validated using clinical outcomes following therapy with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).

Discussion

A prognostic model of lung adenocarcinoma based on DTPRGs was constructed. Targeting DTP cells is a potential therapeutic approach to prevent a drug tolerant state.

Genes associated with inflammation for prognosis prediction for clear cell renal cell carcinoma: a multi-database analysis

Background

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the largest subtype of kidney tumour, with inflammatory responses characterising all stages of the tumour. Establishing the relationship between the genes related to inflammatory responses and ccRCC may help the diagnosis and treatment of patients with ccRCC.

Methods

First, we obtained the data for this study from a public database. After differential analysis and Cox regression analysis, we obtained the genes for the establishment of a prognostic model for ccRCC. As we used data from multiple databases, we standardized all the data using the surrogate variable analysis (SVA) package to make the data from different sources comparable. Next, we used a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression to construct a prognostic model of genes related to inflammation. The data used for modelling and internal validation came from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) series (GSE29609) databases. ccRCC data from the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) database were used for external validation. Tumour data from the E-MTAB-1980 cohort were used for external validation. The GSE40453 and GSE53757 datasets were used to verify the differential expression of inflammation-related gene model signatures (IRGMS). The immunohistochemistry of IRGMS was queried through the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database. After the adequate validation of the IRGM, we further explored its application by constructing nomograms, pathway enrichment analysis, immunocorrelation analysis, drug susceptibility analysis, and subtype identification.

Results

The IRGM can robustly predict the prognosis of samples from patients with ccRCC from different databases. The verification results show that nomogram can accurately predict the survival rate of patients. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that patients in the high-risk (HR) group were associated with a variety of tumorigenesis biological processes. Immune-related analysis and drug susceptibility analysis suggested that patients with higher IRGM scores had more treatment options.

Conclusions

The IRGMS can effectively predict the prognosis of ccRCC. Patients with higher IRGM scores may be better candidates for treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors and have more chemotherapy options.

ZNF714 Supports Pro-Oncogenic Features in Lung Cancer Cells

Despite the ongoing progress in diagnosis and treatments, cancer remains a threat to more than one-third of the human population. The emerging data indicate that many Krüppel-associated box zinc finger proteins (KRAB-ZNF) belonging to a large gene family may be involved in carcinogenesis. Our previous study identified Zinc Finger Protein 714 (ZNF714), a KRAB-ZNF gene of unknown function, as being commonly overexpressed in many tumors, pointing to its hypothetical oncogenic role. Here, we harnessed The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-centered databases and performed functional studies with transcriptomic and methylomic profiling to explore ZNF714 function in cancer. Our pan-cancer analyses confirmed frequent ZNF714 overexpression in multiple tumors, possibly due to regional amplification, promoter hypomethylation, and Nuclear Transcription Factor Y Subunit Beta (NFYB) signaling. We also showed that ZNF714 expression correlates with tumor immunosuppressive features. The in vitro studies indicated that ZNF714 expression positively associates with proliferation, migration, and invasion. The transcriptomic analysis of ZNF714 knocked-down cells demonstrated deregulation of cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation. Importantly, we provided evidence that ZNF714 negatively regulates the expression of several known TSGs indirectly via promoter methylation. However, as ZNF714 did not show nuclear localization in our research model, the regulatory mechanisms exerted by ZNF714 require further investigation. In conclusion, our results reveal, for the first time, that ZNF714 may support pro-oncogenic features in lung cancer cells.

Identification of the Kupffer cell-derived circulating IGFBP-3 as a universal radiation biomarker for heavy ion, proton, and X-ray exposure

The minimally invasive biomarkers that can facilitate a rapid dose assessment are valuable for the early medical treatment when accidental or occupational radiation exposure happens. Our previous proteomic research identified one kind of circulating protein, Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 (IGFBP-3), which showed a significant increase after total body exposure of mice to carbon ions and X-rays. However, several critical issues such as the responses to diverse radiation, the origin and underlying mechanism in radiation response obstruct the utilization of circulating IGFBP-3 as a reliable radiation biomarker. In this study, mice were subjected to total or partial body irradiation with carbon ions, protons or X-rays, or treated with chloroform as a comparison. The level of IGFBP-3 in serum and different organs were measured via Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Western blot (WB) and Immunohistochemistry (IHC). A significant increase of IGFBP-3 was discovered in serum and liver tissue post-irradiation with three kinds of radiation, but absent when challenged with chloroform. Likewise, a similar response was also observed in blood samples from patients receiving radiotherapy. Moreover, the effect of radiation on three main hepatic cells was investigated, the findings indicated that IGFBP-3 could be detected in the culture medium of Kupffer cells (MKC) alone and was elevated in cells and cultured medium of MKC post-irradiation. Additionally, we observed a co-expression effect between P53 and IGFBP-3 in liver tissues and MKC post-irradiation. Along with down-regulation of Trp53 by siRNA, the response of IGFBP-3 to radiation was attenuated. The present study demonstrated that circulating IGFBP-3 could be a promising universal biomarker for complex environmental radiation exposure, and the upregulation of IGFBP-3 is attributed to the MKC in a P53-dependent manner. Circulating IGFBP-3 assays would offer rapid, convenient and effective dose and toxicity assessment methods in occupational exposure or radiation disaster management.

Signaling Pathways of the Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Proteins

The 6 high-affinity insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) are multifunctional proteins that modulate cell signaling through multiple pathways. Their canonical function at the cellular level is to impede access of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and IGF-2 to their principal receptor IGF1R, but IGFBPs can also inhibit, or sometimes enhance, IGF1R signaling either through their own post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation or limited proteolysis, or by their interactions with other regulatory proteins. Beyond the regulation of IGF1R activity, IGFBPs have been shown to modulate cell survival, migration, metabolism, and other functions through mechanisms that do not appear to involve the IGF-IGF1R system. This is achieved by interacting directly or functionally with integrins, transforming growth factor β family receptors, and other cell-surface proteins as well as intracellular ligands that are intermediates in a wide range of pathways. Within the nucleus, IGFBPs can regulate the diverse range of functions of class II nuclear hormone receptors and have roles in both cell senescence and DNA damage repair by the nonhomologous end-joining pathway, thus potentially modifying the efficacy of certain cancer therapeutics. They also modulate some immune functions and may have a role in autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. IGFBPs have been proposed as attractive therapeutic targets, but their ubiquity in the circulation and at the cellular level raises many challenges. By understanding the diversity of regulatory pathways with which IGFBPs interact, there may still be therapeutic opportunities based on modulation of IGFBP-dependent signaling.

Mechanism of Androgen-Independent Stromal Proliferation in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a chronic proliferative disease showing stromal-dominant proliferation. However, the detailed proliferation mechanism has remained unclear. Although aging and androgen have been reported as definitive risk factors for BPH, recent studies have focused on the involvement of androgen-independent factors. Androgen-independent factors include ischemia, oxidative stress, metabolic syndrome, infection, autoimmune reactions, and inflammation, with inflammation in BPH tissues playing a central role in the BPH proliferative process. Inflammation in BPH tissues by various factors finally leads to tissue remodeling and stromal proliferation through the wound healing process of the prostate. To elucidate the proliferative mechanism of BPH, a study using whole-genome gene expression analysis in a stromal-dominant BPH rat model was performed and showed that immune response-related pathways and complement classical pathways are activated. Furthermore, expression analysis using this BPH rat model showed that the autoimmune reaction triggered complement pathway activation in the proliferative process of BPH. BPH is a multifactorial disease, and understanding the role of androgen-independent factors including immune responses contributes to elucidating the pathogenesis of BPH. Androgen-independent factors may lead to new therapeutic targets for BPH, and further development of this research is expected.

Selected Parameters of Bone Turnover in Neuroendocrine Tumors-A Potential Clinical Use?

BACKGROUND

Currently, there are no effective markers to diagnose and monitor patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). The aim of this study was to assess bone metabolism based on selected markers of bone turnover: OST, OPG, and IGFBP-3, in both the group of patients with NETs and the control group. Associations with selected sociodemographic, biochemical, and clinicopathological characteristics were examined. We also evaluated any potential associations between these markers and selected biochemical markers of NETs commonly used in clinical practice.

METHODS

The study group included 60 patients with GEP-NETs and BP-NETs, while the control group comprised 62 healthy individuals. The serum concentrations of OST, OPG and IGFBP-3 were assessed using ELISA.

RESULTS

OST and OPG levels were significantly higher in the study group compared to the control group. In the study group, we observed a significant correlation between OPG and the clinical stage and chromogranin A. Additionally, an association was found between OPG and histological grade, Ki-67, and metastasis in GEP-NET cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Markers of bone turnover cannot be used in the routine diagnostics of neuroendocrine tumors. Nonetheless, these markers may help evaluate the skeletal system in patients with NETs. Further research is needed to determine the utility of osteocalcin (OST) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) as potential biomarkers for neuroendocrine tumors.

Construction and validation of a novel IGFBP3-related signature to predict prognosis and therapeutic decision making for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background

IGFBP3 plays a pivotal role in carcinogenesis by being anomalously expressed in some malignancies. However, the clinical value of IGFBP3 and the role of IGFBP3-related signature in HCC remain unclear.

Methods

Multiple bioinformatics methods were used to determine the expression and diagnostic values of IGFBP3. The expression level of IGFBP3 was validated by RT-qPCR and IHC. A IGFBP3-related risk score (IGRS) was built via correlation analysis and LASSO Cox regression analysis. Further analyses, including functional enrichment, immune status of risk groups were analyzed, and the role of IGRS in guiding clinical treatment was also evaluated.

Results

IGFBP3 expression was significantly downregulated in HCC. IGFBP3 expression correlated with multiple clinicopathological characteristics and demonstrated a powerful diagnostic capability for HCC. In addition, a novel IGRS signature was developed in TCGA, which exhibited good performance for prognosis prediction and its role was further validated in GSE14520. In TCGA and GSE14520, Cox analysis also confirmed that the IGRS could serve as an independent prognostic factor for HCC. Moreover, a nomogram with good accuracy for predicting the survival of HCC was further formulated. Additionally, enrichment analysis showed that the high-IGRS group was enriched in cancer-related pathways and immune-related pathways. Additionally, patients with high IGRS exhibited an immunosuppressive phenotype. Therefore, patients with low IGRS scores may benefit from immunotherapy.

Conclusions

IGFBP3 can act as a new diagnostic factor for HCC. IGRS signature represents a valuable predictive tool in the prognosis prediction and therapeutic decision making for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

CA 19-9 but Not IGF-1/IGFBP-2 Is a Useful Biomarker for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and Chronic Pancreatitis (CP) Differentiation

INTRODUCTION

There are still no effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The differentiation between PDAC and chronic pancreatitis (CP) is often challenging. The inflammatory mass in the course of CP causes diagnostic difficulties in differentiating them from neoplastic lesions and, thus, delays the initiation of radical treatment. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 2 (IGFBP-2) form a network involved in PDAC development. The role of IGFs in promoting pancreatic cancer cell proliferation, survival, and migration is well established, and their ability to stimulate tumor growth and metastasis is well documented. The aim of the study was to evaluate the usability of IGF-1, IGFBP-2, and IGF-1/IGFBP-2 ratio in PDAC and CP differentiation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study included 137 patients: 89 patients with PDAC and 48 patients with CP. All subjects were tested for the levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-2 using the ELISA method (Corgenix UK Ltd. R&D Systems), along with the level of CA 19-9 in serum. Additionally, the IGF-1/IGFBP-2 ratio was calculated. Further analyses used logit and probit models with varying determinants in order to discern between PDAC and CP patients. The models served as a basis for AUROC calculation.

RESULTS

The mean IGF-1 serum level was equal to 52.12 ± 33.13 ng/mL in PDAC vs. 74.23 ± 48.98 ng/mL in CP (p = 0.0053). The mean level of IGFBP-2 was equal to 305.95 ± 194.58 ng/mL in PDAC vs. 485.43 ± 299 ng/mL in CP (p = 0.0002). The mean CA 19-9 serum concentration was 434.95 ± 419.98 U/mL in PDAC vs. 78.07 ± 182.36 U/mL in CP (p = 0.0000). The mean IGF-1/IGFBP-2 ratio was 0.213 ± 0.14 in PDAC vs. 0.277 ± 0.33 in CP (p = 0.1914). The diagnostic usefulness of indicators for the purpose of PDAC and CP differentiation was assessed by means of AUROC comparison. The AUROCs of IGF-1, IGFBP-2, and IGF-1/IGFBP-2 ratio ranged below 0.7, being lower than the AUROC of CA 19-9 (0.7953; 0.719 within 95% CI). Together, the CA 19-9 and IGFBP-2 AUROCs also ranged below 0.8. When age was included, the AUROC increased to 0.8632, and its 95% confidence interval held above the 0.8 limit. The sensitivity of the used markers was not correlated to the stage of pancreatic PDAC.

CONCLUSIONS

The presented results indicate that CA 19-9 is a marker demonstrating high potential for PDAC and CP differentiation. The inclusion of additional variables into the model, such as the serum level of IGF-1 or IGFBP-2, slightly increased the sensitivity in differentiating CP from PDAC. The IGF-1/IGFBP-2 ratio turned out to be a good marker of pancreatic diseases, but insufficient for the purpose of CP and PDAC differentiation.

Genome-wide analyses characterize shared heritability among cancers and identify novel cancer susceptibility regions

BACKGROUND

The shared inherited genetic contribution to risk of different cancers is not fully known. In this study, we leverage results from 12 cancer genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to quantify pairwise genome-wide genetic correlations across cancers and identify novel cancer susceptibility loci.

METHODS

We collected GWAS summary statistics for 12 solid cancers based on 376 759 participants with cancer and 532 864 participants without cancer of European ancestry. The included cancer types were breast, colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, glioma, head and neck, lung, melanoma, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and renal cancers. We conducted cross-cancer GWAS and transcriptome-wide association studies to discover novel cancer susceptibility loci. Finally, we assessed the extent of variant-specific pleiotropy among cancers at known and newly identified cancer susceptibility loci.

RESULTS

We observed widespread but modest genome-wide genetic correlations across cancers. In cross-cancer GWAS and transcriptome-wide association studies, we identified 15 novel cancer susceptibility loci. Additionally, we identified multiple variants at 77 distinct loci with strong evidence of being associated with at least 2 cancer types by testing for pleiotropy at known cancer susceptibility loci.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, these results suggest that some genetic risk variants are shared among cancers, though much of cancer heritability is cancer-specific and thus tissue-specific. The increase in statistical power associated with larger sample sizes in cross-disease analysis allows for the identification of novel susceptibility regions. Future studies incorporating data on multiple cancer types are likely to identify additional regions associated with the risk of multiple cancer types.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 induces senescence by inhibiting telomerase activity in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) has been known to inhibit cell proliferation and exert tumor-suppressing effects depending on the cell type. In this study, we aimed to show that IGFBP-3 induces cellular senescence via suppression of the telomerase activity, thereby inhibiting MCF-7 breast cancer cell proliferation. We found that the induction of IGFBP-3 in MCF-7 cells enhanced the loss of cell viability. Flow cytometry revealed a higher percentage of non-cycling cells among IGFBP-3-expressing cells than among controls. IGFBP-3 induction also resulted in morphological alterations, such as a flattened cytoplasm and increased granularity, suggesting that IGFBP-3 induces a senescence-like phenotype. The percentage of IGFBP-3 expressing cells with senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity was 3.4 times higher than control cells. Telomeric repeat amplification and real-time PCR showed that IGFBP-3 decreased telomerase activity by reducing the levels of the RNA component (hTR) and catalytic protein component with reverse transcriptase activity (hTERT) of telomerase in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that IGFBP-3 is a negative regulator of MCF-7 breast cancer cell growth by inducing senescence through telomerase suppression.

IGFBP3 induced by the TGF-β/EGFRvIII transactivation contributes to the malignant phenotype of glioblastoma

Dual or multi-targets therapy targeting epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) and other molecular may relax the constraint for glioblastoma (GBM), putting forward the urgent requirement of finding candidate molecules. Here, the insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP3) was considered a candidate, whereas the mechanisms of IGFBP3 production remain unclear. We treated GBM cells with exogenous transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) to simulate the microenvironment. We found that TGF-β and EGFRvIII transactivation induced the activation of transcription factor c-Jun, which specifically bound to the promoter region of IGFBP3 through Smad2/3 and ERK1/2 pathways and promoted the production and secretion of IGFBP3. IGFBP3 knockdown inhibited the activation of TGF-β and EGFRvIII signals and the malignant behaviors triggered by them in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, our results indicated a positive feedback loop of p-EGFRvIII/IGFBP3 under administration of TGF-β, blocking IGFBP3 may be an additional target in EGFRvIII-expressing GBM-selective therapeutic strategy.

Study on the Mechanism of MC5R Participating in Energy Metabolism of Goose Liver

Nutrition and energy levels have an important impact on animal growth, production performance, disease occurrence and health recovery. Previous studies indicate that melanocortin 5 receptor (MC5R) is mainly involved in the regulations of exocrine gland function, lipid metabolism and immune response in animals. However, it is not clear how MC5R participates in the nutrition and energy metabolism of animals. To address this, the widely used animal models, including the overfeeding model and the fasting/refeeding model, could provide an effective tool. In this study, the expression of MC5R in goose liver was first determined in these models. Goose primary hepatocytes were then treated with nutrition/energy metabolism-related factors (glucose, oleic acid and thyroxine), which is followed by determination of MC5R gene expression. Moreover, MC5R was overexpressed in goose primary hepatocytes, followed by identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and pathways subjected to MC5R regulation by transcriptome analysis. At last, some of the genes potentially regulated by MC5R were also identified in the in vivo and in vitro models, and were used to predict possible regulatory networks with PPI (protein-protein interaction networks) program. The data showed that both overfeeding and refeeding inhibited the expression of MC5R in goose liver, while fasting induced the expression of MC5R. Glucose and oleic acid could induce the expression of MC5R in goose primary hepatocytes, whereas thyroxine could inhibit it. The overexpression of MC5R significantly affected the expression of 1381 genes, and the pathways enriched with the DEGs mainly include oxidative phosphorylation, focal adhesion, ECM-receptor interaction, glutathione metabolism and MAPK signaling pathway. Interestingly, some pathways are related to glycolipid metabolism, including oxidative phosphorylation, pyruvate metabolism, citrate cycle, etc. Using the in vivo and in vitro models, it was demonstrated that the expression of some DEGs, including ACSL1, PSPH, HMGCS1, CPT1A, PACSIN2, IGFBP3, NMRK1, GYS2, ECI2, NDRG1, CDK9, FBXO25, SLC25A25, USP25 and AHCY, was associated with the expression of MC5R, suggesting these genes may mediate the biological role of MC5R in these models. In addition, PPI analysis suggests that the selected downstream genes, including GYS2, ECI2, PSPH, CPT1A, ACSL1, HMGCS1, USP25 and NDRG1, participate in the protein-protein interaction network regulated by MC5R. In conclusion, MC5R may mediate the biological effects caused by changes in nutrition and energy levels in goose hepatocytes through multiple pathways, including glycolipid-metabolism-related pathways.

Colon cancer transcriptome

Over the last four decades, methodological innovations have continuously changed transcriptome profiling. It is now feasible to sequence and quantify the transcriptional outputs of individual cells or thousands of samples using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). These transcriptomes serve as a connection between cellular behaviors and their underlying molecular mechanisms, such as mutations. This relationship, in the context of cancer, provides a chance to unravel tumor complexity and heterogeneity and uncover novel biomarkers or treatment options. Since colon cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies, its prognosis and diagnosis seem to be critical. The transcriptome technology is developing for an earlier and more accurate diagnosis of cancer which can provide better protectivity and prognostic utility to medical teams and patients. A transcriptome is a whole set of expressed coding and non-coding RNAs in an individual or cell population. The cancer transcriptome includes RNA-based changes. The combined genome and transcriptome of a patient may provide a comprehensive picture of their cancer, and this information is beginning to affect treatment decision-making in real-time. A full assessment of the transcriptome of colon (colorectal) cancer has been assessed in this review paper based on risk factors such as age, obesity, gender, alcohol use, race, and also different stages of cancer, as well as non-coding RNAs like circRNAs, miRNAs, lncRNAs, and siRNAs. Similarly, they have been examined independently in the transcriptome study of colon cancer.

Protective effects of Qing-Re-Huo-Xue formula on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis through the p53/IGFBP3 pathway

Background

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive fibrosing lung disease with high mortality. Inflammation and epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) may play an important role in the occurrence and development of IPF. Qing-Re-Huo-Xue formula (QRHXF) has been used clinically by our team for half a century and has obvious therapeutic effects on lung disease. Nevertheless, the role and mechanism of QRHXF in the treatment of IPF have never been studied.

Methods

A mouse pulmonary fibrosis model was established by intratracheal injection of BLM. The effects of QRHXF on the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis were studied by pulmonary function testing, imaging examination, pathological staining, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation and mRNA expression. Tandem mass tag (TMT)-based quantitative proteomics was carried out to analyse the lung protein expression profiles between the control (CTL), bleomycin (BLM) and QRHXF (BLM + QRHXF) groups. Immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR were used to verify the possible existence of drug target proteins and signalling pathways.

Results

The results of pulmonary function, lung pathology and imaging examinations showed that QRHXF could significantly alleviate BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis in vivo. Additionally, inflammatory cell infiltration and EMT were markedly reduced in BLM-induced PF mice administered QRHXF. Proteomics detected a total of 35 proteins, of which 17 were upregulated and 18 were downregulated. A total of 19 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) overlapped between the BLM versus CTL groups and the BLM + QRHXF versus BLM groups. The expression of p53 and IGFBP3 was reversed in the QRHXF intervention group, which was verified by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR.

Conclusions

QRHXF attenuated BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis, and regulation of the p53/IGFBP3 pathway might be associated with its efficacy, which holds promise as a novel treatment strategy for pulmonary fibrosis patients.

Graphical Abstract

Obesity and endocrine-related cancer: The important role of IGF-1

Obesity is increasingly becoming a global epidemic of concern and is considered a risk factor for several endocrine-related cancers. Moreover, obesity is associated with cancer development and poor prognosis. As a metabolic abnormality, obesity leads to a series of changes in insulin, IGF-1, sex hormones, IGFBPs, and adipokines. Among these factors, IGF-1 plays an important role in obesity-related endocrine cancers. This review describes the role of obesity in endocrine-related cancers, such as prostate cancer, breast cancer and pancreatic cancer, focusing on the mechanism of IGF-1 and the crosstalk with estrogen and adipokines. In addition, this review briefly introduces the current status of IGF-1R inhibitors in clinical practice and shows the prospect of IGF-1R inhibitors in combination with other anticancer drugs.

IGFBP3 Enhances Treatment Outcome and Predicts Favorable Prognosis in ABC-DLBCL

Chemoresistance is a key obstacle in the clinical treatment and management of activated B cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (ABC-DLBCL), which leads to the poor prognosis of patients. Exploring novel biomarkers to early warn drug resistance and ameliorate the patients' outcome in ABC-DLBCL is urgent and crucial. Previously, we found that insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) was remarkably associated with immunochemotherapy treatment response through microarray screening. Based on a retrospective cohort (n = 160) and a GEO cohort (n = 292), here we determined the positive expression rate of IGFBP3 and analyzed the role of IGFBP3 in treatment response and prognostics in ABC-DLBCL. The results demonstrated that the complete response (CR) rate of R-CHOP treatment was higher in ABC-DLBCL with IGFBP3 positive expression than those with IGFBP3 negative expression (42.0% vs 26.4%), and IGFBP3 positive expression in ABC-DLBCL was significantly correlated with enhanced therapeutic response (P = 0.037). High level of IGFBP3 was negatively correlated with tumorigenesis and development and predicted favorable survival time in ABC-DLBCL. In conclusion, IGFBP3 may be utilized as a promising biomarker for prognosis evaluation and a potential therapy target in ABC-DLBCL patients.

Physical Exercise and the Hallmarks of Breast Cancer: A Narrative Review

Growing evidence suggests that, among the different molecular/cellular pathophysiological mechanisms associated with cancer, there are 14 hallmarks that play a major role, including: (i) sustaining proliferative signaling, (ii) evading growth suppressors, (iii) activating invasion and metastasis, (iv) enabling replicative immortality, (v) inducing angiogenesis, (vi) resisting cell death, (vii) reprogramming energy metabolism, (viii) evading immune destruction, (ix) genome instability and mutations, (x) tumor-promoting inflammation, (xi) unlocking phenotypic plasticity, (xii) nonmutational epigenetic reprogramming, (xiii) polymorphic microbiomes, and (xiv) senescent cells. These hallmarks are also associated with the development of breast cancer, which represents the most prevalent tumor type in the world. The present narrative review aims to describe, for the first time, the effects of physical activity/exercise on these hallmarks. In summary, an active lifestyle, and particularly regular physical exercise, provides beneficial effects on all major hallmarks associated with breast cancer, and might therefore help to counteract the progression of the disease or its associated burden.

Evolutionary analysis and functional characterization reveal the role of the insulin-like growth factor system in a diversified selection of chickens (Gallus gallus)

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system plays an indispensable role in embryonic and postnatal development in mammals. However, the effects of the system on growth, carcass, and egg-laying traits, and diversified selection have not been systematically studied in chickens. In the present study, firstly the composition and gene structures of the chicken IGF system were investigated using phylogenetic tree and conserved synteny analysis. Then the effects of the genetic variations in the IGF system genes on breeding of specialized varieties were explored by principal component analysis. In addition, the spatiotemporal expression properties of the genes in this system were analyzed by RT-qPCR and the functions of the genes in egg production performance and growth were explored by association study. Moreover, the effects of IGF-binding proteins 3 (IGFBP3) on skeletal muscle development in chicken were investigated by cell cycle analysis, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) and Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assays. The results showed that the chicken IGF system included 13 members which could be classified into 3 groups based on their amino acid sequences: IGF binding proteins 1 to 5 and 7 (IGFBP1-5 and 7) belonged to the first group; IGF 1 and 2 (IGF1 and IGF2), and IGF 1 and 2 receptor (IGF1R and IGF2R) belonged to the second group; and IGF2 binding proteins 1-3 (IGF2BP1-3) belonged to the third group. The IGF2BP1 and 3, and IGFBP2, 3, and 7 genes likely contributed more to the formation of both the specialized meat-type and egg-type lines, whereas IGFBP1 and 5 likely contributed more to the formation of the egg-type lines. The SNPs in the IGF2BP3 and IGFBP2 and 5 genes were significantly associated with egg number, and SNPs in the IGFBP3 promoter region were significantly associated with body weight, breast muscle weight and leg muscle weight. The IGFBP3 inhibited proliferation but promoted differentiation of chicken primary myoblasts (CPMs). These results provide insights into the roles of the IGF system in the diversified selection of chickens. The SNPs associated with egg-laying performance, growth, and carcass traits could be used as genetic markers for breeding selection of chickens in the future.

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Inhibits Tumorigenesis and Progression of Colitis-Associated Colon Cancer through Suppression of Inflammatory Neutrophil-Activated Serine Proteases and IGFBP-3 Proteolysis

Colitis-associated colon cancer (CAC) accompanies the massive infiltration of neutrophils during tumorigenesis and progression of CAC. Depletion of neutrophils in circulation results in significant inhibition of tumor incidence in CAC. However, the underlying mechanisms are largely unclear. In this study, we provide evidence for the crucial involvement of inflammatory neutrophil-activated serine proteases (NSPs) on the dysregulation of the anti-inflammatory and antitumor IGFBP-3/IGFBP-3R signaling axis in CAC using a chronic AOM/DSS mouse model. We also provide preclinical evidence for α1-antitrypsin (AAT) as a preventive and as a therapeutic for CAC. AAT administration not only prevented colitis-associated tumorigenesis but also inhibited established CAC. AOM/DSS treatment results in the significant activation of NSPs, leading to CAC through increased pro-inflammatory cytokines and decreased anti-inflammatory and antitumor IGFBP-3. Collectively, these data suggest that the NSPs proteolyze IGFBP-3, whereas AAT inhibits chronic colonic inflammation-induced NSP activity and subsequently suppresses IGFBP-3 proteolysis. Therefore, the anti-inflammatory and antitumor functions of the IGFBP-3/IGFBP-3R axis are restored. AAT mimicking small peptides also showed their inhibitory effects on NSP-induced IGFBP-3 proteolysis. These results suggest that targeting the NSP-IGFBP-3/IGFBP-3R axis using NSP inhibitors such as AAT and the AAT mimics and IGFBP-3R agonists could lead to novel approaches for the prevention and treatment of CAC.

Single-cell RNA sequencing highlights the functional role of human endogenous retroviruses in gallbladder cancer

Background

Gallbladder cancer (GBC), the most common malignancy of the biliary tract, shows late diagnosis and low survival rate and requires continued search for new diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are specifically prone to be reactivated in diverse cancers and are implicated in cancer progression and immunotherapy.

Methods

Single-cell RNA sequencing was performed on tumor tissues and paired adjacent tissues from 4 GBC patients. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was applied to measure enhancer activity of HERV sequences.

Findings

We dissected the cellular diversity and described the HERV transcriptomic landscape for GBC. We found that HERVs were transcribed in a cell type-specific manner and different HERV families were associated with diverse biological effects. HERVs could function as enhancers, presumably causing altered expression of neighboring genes. The transcription level of HERVH was gradually elevated with the malignant transformation of epithelial cells, suggesting HERVH may be a potential early diagnostic biomarker of GBC. HHLA2, a newly emerging immune checkpoint, was derived by HERVH, exhibited an expressional correlation with HERVH, and was identified as a promising target for immunotherapy.

Interpretation

Exploring the transcriptional landscape and potential functional impact of HERVs highlights the important role of HERVs in GBC and provides a fresh perspective on managing GBC.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31970176, 81972256) and the research grants from the Innovation Capacity Building Project of Jiangsu province (BM2020019).

A pan-cancer analysis of matrisome proteins reveals CTHRC1 and a related network as major ECM regulators across cancers

The extracellular matrix in the tumour microenvironment can regulate cancer cell growth and progression. A pan-cancer analysis of TCGA data from 30 cancer types, identified the top 5% of matrisome genes with amplifications or deletions in their copy number, that affect their expression and cancer survival. A similar analysis of matrisome genes in individual cancers identified CTHRC1 to be significantly altered. CTHRC1, a regulator of collagen synthesis, was identified as the most prominently upregulated matrisome gene of interest across cancers. Differential gene expression analysis identified 19 genes whose expression is increased with CTHRC1. STRING analysis of these genes classified them as ‘extracellular’, involved most prominently in ECM organization and cell adhesion. KEGG analysis showed their involvement in ECM-receptor and growth factor signalling. Cytohubba analysis of these genes revealed 13 hub genes, of which MMP13, POSTN, SFRP4, ADAMTS16 and FNDC1 were significantly altered in their expression with CTHRC1 and seen to affect survival across cancers. This could in part be mediated by their overlapping roles in regulating ECM (collagen or fibronectin) expression and organisation. In breast cancer tumour samples CTHRC1 protein levels are significantly upregulated with POSTN and MMP13, further supporting the need to evaluate their crosstalk in cancers.

The Insulin-like Growth Factor System and Colorectal Cancer

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are peptides which exert mitogenic, endocrine and cytokine activities. Together with their receptors, binding proteins and associated molecules, they participate in numerous pathophysiological processes, including cancer development. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a disease with high incidence and mortality rates worldwide, whose etiology usually represents a combination of the environmental and genetic factors. IGFs are most often increased in CRC, enabling excessive autocrine/paracrine stimulation of the cell growth. Overexpression or increased activation/accessibility of IGF receptors is a coinciding step which transmits IGF-related signals. A number of molecules and biochemical mechanisms exert modulatory effects shaping the final outcome of the IGF-stimulated processes, frequently leading to neoplastic transformation in the case of irreparable disbalance. The IGF system and related molecules and pathways which participate in the development of CRC are the focus of this review.

Structural changes of proteins in liver cirrhosis and consequential changes in their function

The liver is the site of synthesis of the majority of circulating proteins. Besides initial polypeptide synthesis, sophisticated machinery is involved in the further processing of proteins by removing parts of them and/or adding functional groups and small molecules tailoring the final molecule to suit its physiological purpose. Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) design a network of molecules with the common protein ancestor but with slightly or considerably varying activity/localization/purpose. PTMs can change under pathological conditions, giving rise to aberrant or overmodified proteins. Undesired changes in the structure of proteins most often accompany undesired changes in their function, such as reduced activity or the appearance of new effects. Proper protein processing is essential for the reactions in living beings and crucial for the overall quality control. Modifications that occur on proteins synthesized in the liver whose PTMs are cirrhosis-related are oxidation, nitration, glycosylation, acetylation, and ubiquitination. Some of them predominantly affect proteins that remain in liver cells, whereas others predominantly occur on proteins that leave the liver or originate from other tissues and perform their function in the circulation. Altered PTMs of certain proteins are potential candidates as biomarkers of liver-related diseases, including cirrhosis. This review will focus on PTMs on proteins whose structural changes in cirrhosis exert or are suspected to exert the most serious functional consequences.

Pharmacological Properties of 4′, 5, 7-Trihydroxyflavone (Apigenin) and Its Impact on Cell Signaling Pathways

Plant bioactive compounds, particularly apigenin, have therapeutic potential and functional activities that aid in the prevention of infectious diseases in many mammalian bodies and promote tumor growth inhibition. Apigenin is a flavonoid with low toxicities and numerous bioactive properties due to which it has been considered as a traditional medicine for decades. Apigenin shows synergistic effects in combined treatment with sorafenib in the HepG2 human cell line (HCC) in less time and statistically reduces the viability of tumor cells, migration, gene expression and apoptosis. The combination of anti-cancerous drugs with apigenin has shown health promoting potential against various cancers. It can prevent cell mobility, maintain the cell cycle and stimulate the immune system. Apigenin also suppresses mTOR activity and raises the UVB-induced phagocytosis and reduces the cancerous cell proliferation and growth. It also has a high safety threshold, and active (anti-cancer) doses can be gained by consuming a vegetable and apigenin rich diet. Apigenin also boosted autophagosome formation, decreased cell proliferation and activated autophagy by preventing the activity of the PI3K pathway, specifically in HepG2 cells. This paper provides an updated overview of apigenin’s beneficial anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and anticancer effects, making it a step in the right direction for therapeutics. This study also critically analyzed the effect of apigenin on cancer cell signaling pathways including the PI3K/AKT/MTOR, JAK/STAT, NF-κB and ERK/MAPK pathways.

Different roles of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis in non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract:

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains one of the deadliest malignant diseases, with high incidence and mortality worldwide. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis, consisting of IGF-1, IGF-2, related receptors (IGF-1R, -2R), and high-affinity binding proteins (IGFBP 1–6), is associated with promoting fetal development, tissue growth, and metabolism. Emerging studies have also identified the role of the IGF axis in NSCLC, including cancer growth, invasion, and metastasis. Upregulation of IGE-1 and IGF-2, overexpression of IGF-1R, and dysregulation of downstream signaling molecules involved in the PI-3K/Akt and MAPK pathways jointly increase the risk of cancer growth and migration in NSCLC. At the genetic level, some noncoding RNAs could influence the proliferation and differentiation of tumor cells through the IGF signaling pathway. The resistance to some promising drugs might be partially attributed to the IGF axis. Therapeutic strategies targeting the IGF axis have been evaluated, and some have shown promising efficacy. In this review, we summarize the biological roles of the IGF axis in NSCLC, including the expression and prognostic significance of the related components, noncoding RNA regulation, involvement in drug resistance, and therapeutic application. This review offers comprehensive understanding of NSCLC and provides insightful ideas for future research.

Polystyrene nanoplastics induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and myocardial inflammation in carp by promoting ROS production

Nanoplastics (NPs) existing in aquatic ecosystem is an emerging environmental pollutant, which has become a nagging serious environmental problem. Miniaturized plastic fragments with different diameters have different penetration capabilities to body tissues, and thus may have different toxicity to the target organs. However, the specific toxicological effects and mechanisms of NPs with different particle sizes on aquatic animal hearts are still unknown. To this end, carps were directly exposed to the aqueous environment of polystyrene NPs (1000 μg/L, PS-NPs) with three particle sizes (50 nm, 100 nm and 400 nm), respectively, for 28 days. H&E and TUNEL staining displayed that exposed to PS-NPs of three diameters all caused myocardial tissue inflammation and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in carps. Of note, at the same exposure concentration, the damage caused by PS-NPs with particle size of 50 nm was more serious than that of 100 nm and 400 nm. Further research found that, in carp hearts exposed to PS-NPs, the levels of carp innate immunity-related components TLR4 and NOX2 were significantly higher than those in controls and were negatively correlated with the exposed particle size. The content of ROS increased significantly, the activities of antioxidant enzymes (CAT, SOD1 and Gpx1) decreased, and MDA accumulated. In addition, as the particle size of PS-NPs decreased, Th1 cells gradually replaced Th2 cells to dominate, the Th1/Th2 balance was dysregulated, and the expression of apoptosis-inducing pathway IGFBP3/p53/ACHE-related genes was increased, markedly. Overall, our study results demonstrated that PS-NPs exposure caused oxidative stress, resulting in inflammation and apoptosis in carp heart, and the degree of damage was negatively correlated with the particle size of PS-NPs. Our work enriched the theoretical basis for NPs toxicological research and shed new light on the risk of NPs exposure.

Immune Cell Proinflammatory Microenvironment and Androgen-Related Metabolic Regulation During Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Aging

To review the role of inflammation in the occurrence and development of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), we searched PubMed for the latest published articles up to February 2021 using the following key words: "benign prostatic hyperplasia", "inflammation", "pathogenesis" and "disease development". Articles were obtained and reviewed to provide a systematic review of the current progress of the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis and progression of BPH. Inflammation contributes to the initiation and maintenance of unregulated cell proliferation and is closely related to the occurrence and development of BPH. Its action pathways include tissue damage and subsequent chronic healing, autoimmunity, and coaction with androgens. During the progression of inflammation, macrophages, interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-1 (IL-1) and other inflammatory-related substances aggregate locally and cause BPH through various biochemical pathways. At the same time, BPH can also counteract inflammation to expand its scope and aggravate the situation. Inflammation can independently affect the development of BPH in a variety of ways, and it can also interact with androgens. In the course of treatment, early intervention in the occurrence and development of inflammation in prostate tissue can slow down the progression of BPH. The combination of standard therapies and anti-inflammatory measures may provide valuable new ideas for the treatment of BPH.

Decoding Insulin-Like Growth Factor Signaling Pathway From a Non-coding RNAs Perspective: A Step Towards Precision Oncology in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is a highly complex and heterogenous disease. Several oncogenic signaling pathways drive BC oncogenic activity, thus hindering scientists to unravel the exact molecular pathogenesis of such multifaceted disease. This highlights the urgent need to find a key regulator that tunes up such intertwined oncogenic drivers to trim the malignant transformation process within the breast tissue. The Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway is a tenacious axis that is heavily intertwined with BC where it modulates the amplitude and activity of vital downstream oncogenic signaling pathways. Yet, the complexity of the pathway and the interactions driven by its different members seem to aggravate its oncogenicity and hinder its target-ability. In this review, the authors shed the light on the stubbornness of the IGF signaling pathway and its potential regulation by non-coding RNAs in different BC subtypes. Nonetheless, this review also spots light on the possible transport systems available for efficient delivery of non-coding RNAs to their respective targets to reach a personalized treatment code for BC patients.

Expression of Recombinant Insulin-Like Growth Factor-Binding Protein-3 Receptor in Mammalian Cell Line and Prokaryotic (Escherichia coli) Expression Systems

Background

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 receptor (IGFBP-3R) (Transmembrane protein 219 [TMEM219]) binds explicitly to IGFBP-3 and exerts its apoptotic and autophagy signalling pathway. Constructing a Henrietta Lacks (HeLa) h6-TMEM219 cell characterize the therapeutic potent of TMEM219 that could interrupt the IGFBP-3/TMEM219 pathway, in cancer treatment and destructive cell illnesses such as diabetes and Alzheimer's.

Materials and Methods

First, to develop stable overexpressed HeLa h6-TMEM219 cells, and Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) with high IGFBP-3R expression, the purchased pcDNA3.1-h6-TMEM219 plasmid was transformed and integrated using CaCl2 and chemical transfection reagents, respectively. The pcDNA3.1-h6-TMEM219 transfection and protein expression was evaluated by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), western blotting, and flow cytometry. Following the induction of h6-TMEM219 expression, a protein was purified using Ni-NTA chromatography and evaluated by the sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).

Results

The 606 base pairs sequence in PCR outcomes confirmed successful pcDNA3.1-h6-TMEM219 transformation in E. Coli BL21 and integration into the HeLa genome. The analysis of protein samples from induced E. Coli BL21 and purified protein demonstrate a band of approximately 22 kDa on SDS-PAGE. Moreover, besides western blot analysis, flow cytometry findings illustrate approximately 84% of transfected HeLa cells (HeLa h6-TMEM219) overexpressed h6-TMEM219 on their surface.

Conclusion

We designed a new experiment in the h6-TMEM219 expression procedure in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic hosts. All of our results confirm appropriate transformation and transfection and importantly, approve h6-TMEM 219 membrane expression. Finally, the HeLa h6-TMEM219 cells and the newly purified h6-TMEM219 leverage new studies for molecular diagnostic studies and characterize the therapeutic agents against IGFBP-3/TMEM219 signalling pathway in devastating illnesses in vitro and in vivo.

The IGFBP3/TMEM219 pathway regulates beta cell homeostasis

Loss of pancreatic beta cells is a central feature of type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes, but a therapeutic strategy to preserve beta cell mass remains to be established. Here we show that the death receptor TMEM219 is expressed on pancreatic beta cells and that signaling through its ligand insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) leads to beta cell loss and dysfunction. Increased peripheral IGFBP3 was observed in established and at-risk T1D/T2D patients and was confirmed in T1D/T2D preclinical models, suggesting that dysfunctional IGFBP3/TMEM219 signaling is associated with abnormalities in beta cells homeostasis. In vitro and in vivo short-term IGFBP3/TMEM219 inhibition and TMEM219 genetic ablation preserved beta cells and prevented/delayed diabetes onset, while long-term IGFBP3/TMEM219 blockade allowed for beta cell expansion. Interestingly, in several patients' cohorts restoration of appropriate IGFBP3 levels was associated with improved beta cell function. The IGFBP3/TMEM219 pathway is thus shown to be a physiological regulator of beta cell homeostasis and is also demonstrated to be disrupted in T1D/T2D. IGFBP3/TMEM219 targeting may therefore serve as a therapeutic option in diabetes.

Forming cytoplasmic stress granules PURα suppresses mRNA translation initiation of IGFBP3 to promote esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most fatal malignancies worldwide. Recently, our group identified purine-rich element binding protein alpha (PURα), a single-stranded DNA/RNA-binding protein, to be significantly associated with the progression of ESCC. Additional immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that PURα forms cytoplasmic stress granules to suppress mRNA translation initiation. The expression level of cytoplasmic PURα in ESCC tumor tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent epithelia and correlated with a worse patient survival rate by immunohistochemistry. Functionally, PURα strongly preferred to bind to UG-/U-rich motifs and mRNA 3´UTR by CLIP-seq analysis. Moreover, PURα knockout significantly increased the protein level of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3). In addition, it was further demonstrated that PURα-interacting proteins are remarkably associated with translation initiation factors and ribosome-related proteins and that PURα regulates protein expression by interacting with translation initiation factors, such as PABPC1, eIF3B and eIF3F, in an RNA-independent manner, while the interaction with ribosome-related proteins is significantly dependent on RNA. Specifically, PURα was shown to interact with the mRNA 3´UTR of IGFBP3 and inhibit its expression by suppressing mRNA translation initiation. Together, this study identifies cytoplasmic PURα as a modulator of IGFBP3, which could be a promising therapeutic target for ESCC treatment.

Colostrogenesis: Role and Mechanism of the Bovine Fc Receptor of the Neonate (FcRn)

Colostrogenesis is a separate and unique phase of mammary epithelial cell activity occurring in the weeks before parturition and rather abruptly ending after birth in the bovine. It has been the focus of research to define what controls this process and how it produces high concentrations of specific biologically active components important for the neonate. In this review we consider colostrum composition and focus upon components that appear in first milked colostrum in concentrations exceeding that in blood serum. The Fc Receptor of the Neonate (FcRn) is recognized as the major immunoglobulin G (IgG) and albumin binding protein that accounts for the proteins' long half-lives. We integrate the action of the pinocytotic (fluid phase) uptake of extracellular components and merge them with FcRn in sorting endosomes. We define and explore the means of binding, sorting, and the transcytotic delivery of IgG1 while recycling IgG2 and albumin. We consider the means of releasing the ligands from the receptor within the endosome and describe a new secretion mechanism of cargo release into colostrum without the appearance of FcRn itself in colostrum. We integrate the insulin-like growth factor family, some of which are highly concentrated bioactive components of colostrum, with the mechanisms related to FcRn endosome action. In addition to secretion, we highlight the recent findings of a role of the FcRn in phagocytosis and antigen presentation and relate its significant and abrupt change in cellular location after parturition to a role in the prevention and resistance to mastitis infections.

Novel Methylation Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer Prognosis

Colorectal cancer (CRC) comprises the third most common cancer worldwide and the second regarding number of deaths. In order to make a correct and early diagnosis to predict metastasis formation, biomarkers are an important tool. Although there are multiple signaling pathways associated with cancer progression, the most recognized are the MAPK pathway, p53 pathway, and TGF-β pathway. These pathways regulate many important functions in the cell, such as cell cycle regulation, proliferation, differentiation, and metastasis formation, among others. Changes in expression in genes belonging to these pathways are drivers of carcinogenesis. Often these expression changes are caused by mutations; however, epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation, are increasingly acknowledged to play a role in the deregulation of oncogenic genes. This makes DNA methylation changes an interesting biomarkers in cancer. Among the newly identified biomarkers for CRC metastasis INHBB, SMOC2, BDNF, and TBRG4 are included, all of which are highly deregulated by methylation and closely associated with metastasis. The identification of such biomarkers in metastasis of CRC may allow a better treatment and early identification of cancer formation in order to perform better diagnostics and improve the life expectancy.

Heterogeneity analysis of the immune microenvironment in laryngeal carcinoma revealed potential prognostic biomarkers

Laryngeal squamous cell cancer (LSCC) is the second most prevalent malignancy occurring in the head and neck with a high incidence and mortality rate. Immunotherapy has recently become an emerging treatment for cancer. It is therefore essential to explore the role of tumour immunity in laryngeal cancer. Our study first delineated and evaluated the comprehensive immune infiltration landscapes of the tumour microenvironment in LSCC. A hierarchical clustering method was applied to classify the LSCC samples into two groups (high- and low-infiltration groups). We found that individuals with low immune infiltration characteristics had significantly better survival than those in the high-infiltration group, possibly because of the elevated infiltration of immune suppressive cells, such as regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), in the high-infiltration group. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between two groups were involved in some immune-related terms, such as antigen processing and presentation. A univariate Cox analysis and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis were performed to identify an immune gene-set-based prognostic signature (IBPS) to assess the risk of LSCC. The prognostic model comprising six IBPSs was successfully verified to be robust in different cohorts. The expression of the six IBPSs was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 110 cases of LSCC. In addition, different inflammatory profiles and immune checkpoint landscape of LSCC were found between two groups. Hence, our model could serve as a candidate immunotherapeutic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for laryngeal cancer.