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Dong Q, Guo Y, Lv C, Ren L, Chen B, Wang Y, Liu Y, Liu M, Liu K, Zhang N, Wang L, Sang S, Li X, Hui Y, Liang H, Gu Y. Unveiling a novel cancer hallmark by evaluation of neural infiltration in cancer. Brief Bioinform 2025; 26:bbaf082. [PMID: 40052442 PMCID: PMC11886572 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbaf082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2024] [Revised: 01/30/2025] [Accepted: 02/17/2025] [Indexed: 03/10/2025] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells acquire necessary functional capabilities for malignancy through the influence of the nervous system. We evaluate the extent of neural infiltration within the tumor microenvironment (TME) across multiple cancer types, highlighting its role as a cancer hallmark. We identify cancer-related neural genes using 40 bulk RNA-seq datasets across 10 cancer types, developing a predictive score for cancer-related neural infiltration (C-Neural score). Cancer samples with elevated C-Neural scores exhibit perineural invasion, recurrence, metastasis, higher stage or grade, or poor prognosis. Epithelial cells show the highest C-Neural scores among all cell types in 55 single-cell RNA sequencing datasets. The epithelial cells with high C-Neural scores (epi-highCNs) characterized by increased copy number variation, reduced cell differentiation, higher epithelial-mesenchymal transition scores, and elevated metabolic level. Epi-highCNs frequently communicate with Schwann cells by FN1 signaling pathway. The co-culture experiment indicates that Schwann cells may facilitate cancer progression through upregulation of VDAC1. Moreover, C-Neural scores positively correlate with the infiltration of antitumor immune cells, indicating potential response for immunotherapy. Melanoma patients with high C-Neural scores may benefit from trametinib. These analyses illuminate the extent of neural influence within TME, suggesting potential role as a cancer hallmark and offering implications for effective therapeutic strategies against cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Dong
- Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Yingying Guo
- Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
- State Key Laboratory of Frigid Zone Cardiovascular Diseases (SKLFZCD), Department of Pharmacology (State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Chen Lv
- Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Lingxue Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Frigid Zone Cardiovascular Diseases (SKLFZCD), Department of Pharmacology (State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Bo Chen
- Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Yan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Frigid Zone Cardiovascular Diseases (SKLFZCD), Department of Pharmacology (State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Yang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Frigid Zone Cardiovascular Diseases (SKLFZCD), Department of Pharmacology (State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Mingyue Liu
- Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Kaidong Liu
- Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Nan Zhang
- Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Linzhu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Frigid Zone Cardiovascular Diseases (SKLFZCD), Department of Pharmacology (State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Shaocong Sang
- Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Xin Li
- Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Yang Hui
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Haihai Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Frigid Zone Cardiovascular Diseases (SKLFZCD), Department of Pharmacology (State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
- Department of Nephrology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 246 Xuefu Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
| | - Yunyan Gu
- Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, No. 157 Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, China
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Perez-Pacheco C, Schmitd LB, Furgal A, Bellile EL, Liu M, Fattah A, Gonzalez-Maldonado L, Unsworth SP, Wong SY, Rozek LS, Rao A, Wolf GT, Taylor JMG, Casper K, Mierzwa M, D'Silva NJ. Increased Nerve Density Adversely Affects Outcome in Oral Cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2023; 29:2501-2512. [PMID: 37039710 PMCID: PMC10371054 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-22-3496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Perineural invasion (PNI) in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is associated with poor survival. Because of the risk of recurrence, patients with PNI receive additional therapies after surgical resection. Mechanistic studies have shown that nerves in the tumor microenvironment promote aggressive tumor growth. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated whether nerve density (ND) influences tumor growth and patient survival. Moreover, we assessed the reliability of artificial intelligence (AI) in evaluating ND. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN To investigate whether increased ND in OSCC influences patient outcome, we performed survival analyses. Tissue sections of OSCC from 142 patients were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and IHC stains to detect nerves and tumor. ND within the tumor bulk and in the adjacent 2 mm was quantified; normalized ND (NND; bulk ND/adjacent ND) was calculated. The impact of ND on tumor growth was evaluated in chick chorioallantoic-dorsal root ganglia (CAM-DRG) and murine surgical denervation models. Cancer cells were grafted and tumor size quantified. Automated nerve detection, applying the Halo AI platform, was compared with manual assessment. RESULTS Disease-specific survival decreased with higher intratumoral ND and NND in tongue SCC. Moreover, NND was associated with worst pattern-of-invasion and PNI. Increasing the number of DRG, in the CAM-DRG model, increased tumor size. Reduction of ND by denervation in a murine model decreased tumor growth. Automated and manual detection of nerves showed high concordance, with an F1 score of 0.977. CONCLUSIONS High ND enhances tumor growth, and NND is an important prognostic factor that could influence treatment selection for aggressive OSCC. See related commentary by Hondermarck and Jiang, p. 2342.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cindy Perez-Pacheco
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Ligia B Schmitd
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Allison Furgal
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Emily L Bellile
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Min Liu
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Aya Fattah
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Laura Gonzalez-Maldonado
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Shelby P Unsworth
- Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Sunny Y Wong
- Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Laura S Rozek
- Department of Oncology, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Arvind Rao
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Gregory T Wolf
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Jeremy M G Taylor
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Keith Casper
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Michelle Mierzwa
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Nisha J D'Silva
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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