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Helm A, Fournier C. High-LET charged particles: radiobiology and application for new approaches in radiotherapy. Strahlenther Onkol 2023; 199:1225-1241. [PMID: 37872399 PMCID: PMC10674019 DOI: 10.1007/s00066-023-02158-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The number of patients treated with charged-particle radiotherapy as well as the number of treatment centers is increasing worldwide, particularly regarding protons. However, high-linear energy transfer (LET) particles, mainly carbon ions, are of special interest for application in radiotherapy, as their special physical features result in high precision and hence lower toxicity, and at the same time in increased efficiency in cell inactivation in the target region, i.e., the tumor. The radiobiology of high-LET particles differs with respect to DNA damage repair, cytogenetic damage, and cell death type, and their increased LET can tackle cells' resistance to hypoxia. Recent developments and perspectives, e.g., the return of high-LET particle therapy to the US with a center planned at Mayo clinics, the application of carbon ion radiotherapy using cost-reducing cyclotrons and the application of helium is foreseen to increase the interest in this type of radiotherapy. However, further preclinical research is needed to better understand the differential radiobiological mechanisms as opposed to photon radiotherapy, which will help to guide future clinical studies for optimal exploitation of high-LET particle therapy, in particular related to new concepts and innovative approaches. Herein, we summarize the basics and recent progress in high-LET particle radiobiology with a focus on carbon ions and discuss the implications of current knowledge for charged-particle radiotherapy. We emphasize the potential of high-LET particles with respect to immunogenicity and especially their combination with immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Helm
- Biophysics Department, GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Claudia Fournier
- Biophysics Department, GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt, Germany.
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2
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Zhu C, Hu H, Ma Y, Xiong S, Zhu D. Vav1-dependent Rac1 activation mediates hypoxia-induced gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells through upregulation of HIF-1α expression. Cell Biol Int 2023; 47:1835-1842. [PMID: 37545183 DOI: 10.1002/cbin.12074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Hypoxia has been shown to induce gemcitabine (GEM) resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells, however, the underlying mechanisms remain to be clarified. In the present study, we investigated whether activation of Vav1/Rac1/HIF-1α axis is responsible for hypoxia-induced GEM resistance in PDAC cells. Our results showed that Rac1 activation contributed to hypoxia-induced GEM resistance in PANC-1 cells. Hypoxia treatment led to an increased expression level of Vav1, which was responsible for Rac1 activation and GEM resistance in PDAC cells. Furthermore, Rac1 mediated hypoxia-induced GEM resistance by upregulating HIF-1α in PDAC cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that hypoxia induces GEM resistance in PDAC cells by activating the Vav1/Rac1/HIF-1α signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Congyuan Zhu
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
- Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Hao Hu
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Ye Ma
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Shuming Xiong
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Dongming Zhu
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
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Wang L, Li M, Dong T, Li Y, Yin C, Nie F. Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: The Characteristics of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Are Correlated with the Hypoxic Microenvironment. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:3270. [PMID: 37892091 PMCID: PMC10606620 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13203270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
A hypoxic microenvironment is associated with an increased risk of metastasis, treatment resistance and poor prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). This study aimed to identify contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) characteristics that could predict the hypoxic microenvironment of PDAC. A total of 102 patients with surgically resected PDAC who underwent CEUS were included. CEUS qualitative and quantitative characteristics were analyzed. The expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1) and glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) were demonstrated by immunohistochemistry. The associations between CEUS characteristics and the HIF-1α and GLUT1 expression of PDACs were evaluated. We found that HIF-1α-high PDACs and GLUT1-high PDACs had a larger tumor size and were more prone to lymph node metastasis. There was a significant positive linear correlation between the expression of HIF-1α and GLUT1. CEUS qualitative characteristics including completeness of enhancement and peak enhancement degree (PED) were related to the expression of HIF-1α and GLUT1. A logistic regression analysis showed that tumor size, lymph node metastasis, incomplete enhancement and iso-enhancement of PED were independent predictors for HIF-1α-high PDACs and GLUT1-high PDACs. As for quantitative characteristics, HIF-1α-high PDACs and GLUT1-high PDACs showed higher peak enhancement (PE) and wash-in rate (WIR). CEUS can effectively reflect the hypoxia microenvironment of PDAC, which may become a noninvasive imaging biomarker for prognosis prediction and individualized treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lan Wang
- Ultrasound Medical Center, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Cuiyingmen No. 82, Chengguan District, Lanzhou 730030, China; (L.W.); (M.L.); (T.D.); (Y.L.); (C.Y.)
| | - Ming Li
- Ultrasound Medical Center, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Cuiyingmen No. 82, Chengguan District, Lanzhou 730030, China; (L.W.); (M.L.); (T.D.); (Y.L.); (C.Y.)
| | - Tiantian Dong
- Ultrasound Medical Center, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Cuiyingmen No. 82, Chengguan District, Lanzhou 730030, China; (L.W.); (M.L.); (T.D.); (Y.L.); (C.Y.)
- Gansu Province Clinical Research Center for Ultrasonography, Lanzhou 730030, China
| | - Yuanyuan Li
- Ultrasound Medical Center, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Cuiyingmen No. 82, Chengguan District, Lanzhou 730030, China; (L.W.); (M.L.); (T.D.); (Y.L.); (C.Y.)
| | - Ci Yin
- Ultrasound Medical Center, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Cuiyingmen No. 82, Chengguan District, Lanzhou 730030, China; (L.W.); (M.L.); (T.D.); (Y.L.); (C.Y.)
| | - Fang Nie
- Ultrasound Medical Center, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Cuiyingmen No. 82, Chengguan District, Lanzhou 730030, China; (L.W.); (M.L.); (T.D.); (Y.L.); (C.Y.)
- Gansu Province Clinical Research Center for Ultrasonography, Lanzhou 730030, China
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Sun J, Zhu S. Identifying the role of hypoxia-related lncRNAs in pancreatic cancer. Genomics 2023; 115:110665. [PMID: 37315872 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2023.110665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in hypoxia-induced tumor processes. However, the prognostic value of hypoxia-related lncRNAs in pancreatic cancer is limited. METHODS Hypoxia-related lncRNAs were identified by coexpression analysis and the LncTarD database. LASSO analysis was performed to develop a prognostic model. The function of TSPOAP1-AS1 was studied in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS We recognized a set of fourteen hypoxia-related lncRNAs for the construction of a prognostic model. The prognostic model displayed excellent performance in predicting the prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients. The overexpression of TSPOAP1-AS1, a hypoxia-related lncRNA, attenuated the proliferation and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells. HIF-1α bound to the promoter of TSPOAP1-AS1 and impaired its transcription under hypoxia. CONCLUSION The hypoxia-related lncRNA assessment model might be a potential strategy for prognostic prediction in pancreatic cancer. The fourteen lncRNAs contained in the model could be helpful for uncovering the mechanisms of pancreatic tumorigenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Sun
- The Stomatology Center of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China; Academician workstation for Oral & Maxillofacial Regenerative Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China; National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China
| | - Shuai Zhu
- Department of Pancreatic Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China; Department of General Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China; National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan, China.
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5
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Król W, Machelak W, Zielińska M. GDF11 as a friend or an enemy in the cancer biology? Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2023; 1878:188944. [PMID: 37356738 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2023.188944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
The Growth and Differential Factor 11 (GDF11) is a recently discovered representative of Transforming Growth Factor β superfamily. The highest expression of GDF11 is detected in the nervous system, bladder, seminal vesicles and muscles whereas the lowest in the testis, liver or breast. GDF11 role in physiology is still not clear. GDF11 is a crucial factor in embryogenesis, cell cycle control and apoptosis, inasmuch it mainly targets cell retain stemness features, managing to the cell differentiation and the maturation. GDF11 is entangled in lipid metabolism, inflammatory processes and aging. GDF11 is strongly related to carcinogenesis and its expression in tumors is intruded. GDF11 can promote cancer growth in the colon or inhibit the cell proliferation in breast cancer. The aberrated expression is probably allied with the impaired maturation. In this article we summarized an impact of GDF11 on the tumor cells and review the all attitudes connecting GDF11 with carcinogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wojciech Król
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Weronika Machelak
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Marta Zielińska
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
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Ren M, Feng L, Zong R, Sun H. Novel prognostic gene signature for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma based on hypoxia. World J Surg Oncol 2023; 21:257. [PMID: 37605192 PMCID: PMC10464224 DOI: 10.1186/s12957-023-03142-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Currently, there is lack of marker to accurately assess the prognosis of patients diagnosed with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). This study aims to establish a hypoxia-related risk scoring model that can effectively predict the prognosis and chemotherapy outcomes of PDAC patients. METHODS Using unsupervised consensus clustering algorithms, we comprehensively analyzed The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data to identify two distinct hypoxia clusters and used the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to examine gene sets significantly associated with these hypoxia clusters. Then univariate Cox regression, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression and multivariate Cox regression were used to construct a signature and its efficacy was evaluated using the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) PDAC cohort. Further, the correlation between the risk scores obtained from the signature and carious clinical, pathological, immunophenotype, and immunoinfiltration factors as well as the differences in immunotherapy potential and response to common chemotherapy drugs between high-risk and low-risk groups were evaluated. RESULTS From a total of 8 significantly related modules and 4423 genes, 5 hypoxia-related signature genes were identified to construct a risk model. Further analysis revealed that the overall survival rate (OS) of patients in the low-risk group was significantly higher than the high-risk group. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the risk scoring signature was an independent factor for prognosis prediction. Analysis of immunocyte infiltration and immunophenotype showed that the immune score and the anticancer immune response in the high-risk were significantly lower than that in the low-risk group. CONCLUSION The constructed hypoxia-associated prognostic signature demonstrated could be used as a potential risk classifier for PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Ren
- College of Life Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China
| | - Liaoliao Feng
- College of Life Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China
| | - Rongrong Zong
- College of Life Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China
| | - Huiru Sun
- College of Life Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China.
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Guccini I, Tang G, To TT, Di Rito L, Le Blanc S, Strobel O, D’Ambrosio M, Pasquini E, Bolis M, Silva P, Kabakci HA, Godbersen S, Alimonti A, Schwank G, Stoffel M. Genetic ablation of ketohexokinase C isoform impairs pancreatic cancer development. iScience 2023; 26:107368. [PMID: 37559908 PMCID: PMC10407955 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Although dietary fructose is associated with an elevated risk for pancreatic cancer, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we report that ketohexokinase (KHK), the rate-limiting enzyme of fructose metabolism, is a driver of PDAC development. We demonstrate that fructose triggers KHK and induces fructolytic gene expression in mouse and human PDAC. Genetic inactivation of KhkC enhances the survival of KPC-driven PDAC even in the absence of high fructose diet. Furthermore, it decreases the viability, migratory capability, and growth of KPC cells in a cell autonomous manner. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that genetic ablation of KHKC strongly impairs the activation of KRAS-MAPK pathway and of rpS6, a downstream target of mTORC signaling. Moreover, overexpression of KHKC in KPC cells enhances the downstream KRAS pathway and cell viability. Our data provide new insights into the role of KHK in PDAC progression and imply that inhibiting KHK could have profound implications for pancreatic cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Guccini
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Guanghui Tang
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Trang Thuy To
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Laura Di Rito
- Computational Oncology Unit, Department of Oncology, Istituto di Richerche Farmacologiche 'Mario Negri' IRCCS, 20156 Milano, Italy
| | - Solange Le Blanc
- European Pancreas Center, Department of General Surgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Oliver Strobel
- European Pancreas Center, Department of General Surgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mariantonietta D’Ambrosio
- Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland (IOSI), 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
- Universita’ della Svizzera Italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Emiliano Pasquini
- Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland (IOSI), 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
- Universita’ della Svizzera Italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Marco Bolis
- Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland (IOSI), 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
- Bioinformatics Core Unit, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, TI, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Pamuditha Silva
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hasan Ali Kabakci
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Svenja Godbersen
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Alimonti
- Institute of Oncology Research (IOR), Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland (IOSI), 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
- Universita’ della Svizzera Italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
- Department of Medicine, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology (D-HEST) ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gerald Schwank
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Markus Stoffel
- Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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Xu Y, Chen X, Liu N, Chu Z, Wang Q. Identification of fibroblast-related genes based on single-cell and machine learning to predict the prognosis and endocrine metabolism of pancreatic cancer. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2023; 14:1201755. [PMID: 37588985 PMCID: PMC10425556 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1201755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Single-cell sequencing technology has become an indispensable tool in tumor mechanism and heterogeneity studies. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) lacks early specific symptoms, and comprehensive bioinformatics analysis for PAAD contributes to the developmental mechanisms. Methods We performed dimensionality reduction analysis on the single-cell sequencing data GSE165399 of PAAD to obtain the specific cell clusters. We then obtained cell cluster-associated gene modules by weighted co-expression network analysis and identified tumorigenesis-associated cell clusters and gene modules in PAAD by trajectory analysis. Tumor-associated genes of PAAD were intersected with cell cluster marker genes and within the signature module to obtain genes associated with PAAD occurrence to construct a prognostic risk assessment tool by the COX model. The performance of the model was assessed by the Kaplan-Meier (K-M) curve and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The score of endocrine pathways was assessed by ssGSEA analysis. Results The PAAD single-cell dataset GSE165399 was filtered and downscaled, and finally, 17 cell subgroups were filtered and 17 cell clusters were labeled. WGCNA analysis revealed that the brown module was most associated with tumorigenesis. Among them, the brown module was significantly associated with C11 and C14 cell clusters. C11 and C14 cell clusters belonged to fibroblast and circulating fetal cells, respectively, and trajectory analysis showed low heterogeneity for fibroblast and extremely high heterogeneity for circulating fetal cells. Next, through differential analysis, we found that genes within the C11 cluster were highly associated with tumorigenesis. Finally, we constructed the RiskScore system, and K-M curves and ROC curves revealed that RiskScore possessed objective clinical prognostic potential and demonstrated consistent robustness in multiple datasets. The low-risk group presented a higher endocrine metabolism and lower immune infiltrate state. Conclusion We identified prognostic models consisting of APOL1, BHLHE40, CLMP, GNG12, LOX, LY6E, MYL12B, RND3, SOX4, and RiskScore showed promising clinical value. RiskScore possibly carries a credible clinical prognostic potential for PAAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinghua Xu
- Department of Translational Medicine and Clinical Research, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xionghuan Chen
- Department of General Surgery, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Trauma Surgery, Tiantai People’s Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Taizhou, China
| | - Nan Liu
- Department of Translational Medicine and Clinical Research, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhong Chu
- Department of Translational Medicine and Clinical Research, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qiang Wang
- Department of Translational Medicine and Clinical Research, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
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Ren M, Zhang J, Zong R, Sun H. A Novel Pancreatic Cancer Hypoxia Status Related Gene Signature for Prognosis and Therapeutic Responses. Mol Biotechnol 2023:10.1007/s12033-023-00807-x. [PMID: 37405638 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-023-00807-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PAC) is a highly fatal and aggressive type of cancer. Hypoxia is a common feature of PAC. The aim of this study was to develop a hypoxia status-related prognostic model for predicting the survival outcomes in PAC. The data sets of PAC from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the International Cancer Genome Consortium were used to construct and validate the signature. A 6 hypoxia status-related differential expression genes prognostic model for predicting the survival outcomes was established. The Kaplan-Meier analysis and Received operating characteristic curve indicated the good performance of the signature at predicting overall survival. Univariate and Multivariate Cox regression revealed that the signature was an independent prognostic factor in PAC. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis and immune infiltration analysis indicated that Immune-related pathways and immune cell infiltration was mostly enriched in the low-risk group, which presented a better prognosis. We also evaluated the predictive of the signature for immunotherapy and chemoradiotherapy. Risk gene LY6D may be a potential prognostic predictor of PAC. This model can be used as an independent prognostic factor for predicting clinical outcomes and a possible classifier for response to chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Ren
- College of Life Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China.
| | - Jianing Zhang
- College of Life Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China
| | - Rongrong Zong
- College of Life Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China
| | - Huiru Sun
- College of Life Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China.
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10
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Palma AM, Bushnell GG, Wicha MS, Gogna R. Tumor microenvironment interactions with cancer stem cells in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Adv Cancer Res 2023; 159:343-372. [PMID: 37268400 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acr.2023.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer in the United States. Additionally, the low survival rate makes PDAC the third-leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States, and it is projected that by 2030, it will become the second-leading cause of cancer mortality. Several biological factors contribute to PDAC aggressiveness, and their understanding will narrow the gap from biology to clinical care of PDAC, leading to earlier diagnoses and the development of better treatment options. In this review, we describe the origins of PDAC highlighting the role of cancer stem cells (CSC). CSC, also known as tumor initiating cells, which exhibit a unique metabolism that allows them to maintain a highly plastic, quiescent, immune- and therapy-evasive state. However, CSCs can exit quiescence during proliferation and differentiation, with the capacity to form tumors while constituting a small population in tumor tissues. Tumorigenesis depends on the interactions between CSCs and other cellular and non-cellular components in the microenvironment. These interactions are fundamental to support CSC stemness and are maintained throughout tumor development and metastasis. PDAC is characterized by a massive desmoplastic reaction, which result from the deposition of high amounts of extracellular matrix components by stromal cells. Here we review how this generates a favorable environment for tumor growth by protecting tumor cells from immune responses and chemotherapy and inducing tumor cell proliferation and migration, leading to metastasis formation ultimately leading to death. We emphasize the interactions between CSCs and the tumor microenvironment leading to metastasis formation and posit that better understanding and targeting of these interactions will improve patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Grace G Bushnell
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Max S Wicha
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
| | - Rajan Gogna
- VCU Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States; Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States; VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, United States.
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11
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Chen Y, Shen X, Tang Y, Weng Y, Yang W, Liu M, Xu D, Shi J, Yang X, Yu F, Xu J, Zhang Z, Lu P, Sun Y, Xue J, Niu N. The diverse pancreatic tumor cell-intrinsic response to IFNγ is determined by epigenetic heterogeneity. Cancer Lett 2023; 562:216153. [PMID: 37023939 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
IFNγ signaling is mainly mediated through the activation of the canonical JAK-STAT signaling pathway, transcription factors, and epigenetic modifications. The activation of IFNγ signaling pathway may provide a novel option for tumor immunotherapy, but the outcomes remain controversial. In fact, recent studies suggest that the resistance to IFNγ-dependent immunotherapies is commonly derived from the tumor cell-intrinsic heterogeneity, the molecular mechanism of which remains elusive. Therefore, elucidating the tumor cell-intrinsic heterogeneity in response to IFNγ would be beneficial to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy. Here, we first delineated the epigenetic redistribution and transcriptome alteration in response to IFNγ stimulation, and demonstrated that ectopic gain of H3K4me3 and H3K27Ac at the promoter region mainly contributed to the enhancement of IFNγ-mediated transcriptional activity of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). Furthermore, we found that the cellular heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression in response to IFNγ was mainly attributed to cell-intrinsic H3K27me3 levels. Enhancement of H3K27me3 by GSK-J4 limited PD-L1hi tumor growth by salvaging the intratumoral cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells, which may provide therapeutic strategies to overcome immune escape and resistance to IFNγ-based immunotherapies in pancreatic cancer.
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Anand S, Khan MA, Zubair H, Sudan SK, Vikramdeo KS, Deshmukh SK, Azim S, Srivastava SK, Singh S, Singh AP. MYB sustains hypoxic survival of pancreatic cancer cells by facilitating metabolic reprogramming. EMBO Rep 2023; 24:e55643. [PMID: 36592158 PMCID: PMC9986821 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202255643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Extensive desmoplasia and poor vasculature renders pancreatic tumors severely hypoxic, contributing to their aggressiveness and therapy resistance. Here, we identify the HuR/MYB/HIF1α axis as a critical regulator of the metabolic plasticity and hypoxic survival of pancreatic cancer cells. HuR undergoes nuclear-to-cytoplasmic translocation under hypoxia and stabilizes MYB transcripts, while MYB transcriptionally upregulates HIF1α. Upon MYB silencing, pancreatic cancer cells fail to survive and adapt metabolically under hypoxia, despite forced overexpression of HIF1α. MYB induces the transcription of several HIF1α-regulated glycolytic genes by directly binding to their promoters, thus enhancing the recruitment of HIF1α to hypoxia-responsive elements through its interaction with p300-dependent histone acetylation. MYB-depleted pancreatic cancer cells exhibit a dramatic reduction in tumorigenic ability, glucose-uptake and metabolism in orthotopic mouse model, even after HIF1α restoration. Together, our findings reveal an essential role of MYB in metabolic reprogramming that supports pancreatic cancer cell survival under hypoxia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shashi Anand
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
| | - Mohammad Aslam Khan
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
| | - Haseeb Zubair
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
| | - Sarabjeet Kour Sudan
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
| | - Kunwar Somesh Vikramdeo
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
| | - Sachin Kumar Deshmukh
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
| | - Shafquat Azim
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
| | - Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
| | - Seema Singh
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
| | - Ajay Pratap Singh
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Cancer Biology Program, Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
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13
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Xu X, Liang JH, Xu QC, Yin XY. Development and Verification of a novel cuproptosis- and immune-associated based prognostic genetic signature for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Clin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol 2023; 47:102089. [PMID: 36707046 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinre.2023.102089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a malignancy with a dismal prognosis. Cuproptosis, a novel mechanism mediated by protein lipoylation, results in acute proteotoxic stress and ultimately cell death. However, the clinical impacts of cuproptosis-associated genes and their relationship with immune status in PDAC have not been documented. In this study, we aimed at constructing a cuproptosis- and immune-associated prognostic signature to stratify and predict the prognosis for PDAC patients. METHODS The gene expression profiles of 176 PDAC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas and 167 normal pancreas tissues from the Genotype-Tissue Expression Project were analyzed for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between PDAC and normal tissues. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to screen out cuproptosis- and immune-associated DEGs. The risk signature of DEGs was constructed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis, which was validated in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) cohort (n = 114). The immune characteristics in the two risk groups were evaluated using single-sample gene set enrichment analysis and ESTIMATE algorithms. RESULTS A total of 91 cuproptosis- and immune-associated DEGs were screened out, and eight prognostic-related genes were identified using LASSO Cox regression. The prognostic-related genes were then used to construct a risk scoring model, which stratified patients into low- and high-risk groups and were further verified in the external GEO database. The patients in the high-risk group had significantly shorter overall survival than those in the low-risk group. A nomogram based on the risk signature was then constructed. Immune infiltration evaluation suggested that immune status was more activated in the low-risk group. The mutation spectrum also differed between high- and low-risk groups. CONCLUSIONS Our cuproptosis- and immune-associated genetic risk signature could be a prognostic biomarker for PDAC. Cuproptosis might be a promising therapeutic target for PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Xu
- Department of Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China
| | - Jia-Hua Liang
- Department of Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China
| | - Qiong-Cong Xu
- Department of Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiao-Yu Yin
- Department of Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong, China.
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14
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Kim B, Gwak J, Kim M, Yang S, Hwang S, Shin S, Kim JH, Son J, Jeong SM. Suppression of fatty acid oxidation supports pancreatic cancer growth and survival under hypoxic conditions through autophagy induction. Cancer Gene Ther 2023:10.1038/s41417-023-00598-y. [PMID: 36807391 DOI: 10.1038/s41417-023-00598-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
Hypoxia, one of the key features of solid tumors, induces autophagy, which acts as an important adaptive mechanism for tumor progression under hypoxic environment. Cellular metabolic reprogramming has been correlated with hypoxia, but the molecular connection to the induction of autophagy remains obscure. Here, we show that suppression of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) by hypoxia induces autophagy in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells that is required for their growth and survival. Reduced cellular acetyl-CoA levels caused by FAO inhibition decreases LC3 acetylation, resulting in autophagosome formation. Importantly, PDAC cells are significantly dependent on this metabolic reprogramming, as improving FAO leads to a reduction in hypoxia-induced autophagy and an increase in cell death after chemotherapy. Thus, our study supports that suppression of FAO is an important metabolic response to hypoxia and indicates that targeting this pathway in PDAC may be an effective therapeutic approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byungjoo Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute for Aging and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Biomedicine & Health Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 06591, South Korea
| | - Jihye Gwak
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute for Aging and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Biomedicine & Health Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 06591, South Korea
| | - Minjoong Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute for Aging and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Biomedicine & Health Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 06591, South Korea
| | - Seungyeon Yang
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute for Aging and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Biomedicine & Health Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 06591, South Korea
| | - Sunsook Hwang
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute for Aging and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Biomedicine & Health Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 06591, South Korea
| | - Seungmin Shin
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute for Aging and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Biomedicine & Health Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 06591, South Korea
| | - Ji Hye Kim
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Asan Medical Center, AMIST, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, 05505, South Korea
| | - Jaekyoung Son
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Asan Medical Center, AMIST, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, 05505, South Korea
| | - Seung Min Jeong
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute for Aging and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Biomedicine & Health Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, 06591, South Korea.
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15
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Abou Khouzam R, Lehn JM, Mayr H, Clavien PA, Wallace MB, Ducreux M, Limani P, Chouaib S. Hypoxia, a Targetable Culprit to Counter Pancreatic Cancer Resistance to Therapy. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15041235. [PMID: 36831579 PMCID: PMC9953896 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15041235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer, and it is a disease of dismal prognosis. While immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of various solid tumors, it has achieved little success in PDAC. Hypoxia within the stroma-rich tumor microenvironment is associated with resistance to therapies and promotes angiogenesis, giving rise to a chaotic and leaky vasculature that is inefficient at shuttling oxygen and nutrients. Hypoxia and its downstream effectors have been implicated in immune resistance and could be contributing to the lack of response to immunotherapy experienced by patients with PDAC. Paradoxically, increasing evidence has shown hypoxia to augment genomic instability and mutagenesis in cancer, suggesting that hypoxic tumor cells could have increased production of neoantigens that can potentially enable their clearance by cytotoxic immune cells. Strategies aimed at relieving this condition have been on the rise, and one such approach opts for normalizing the tumor vasculature to reverse hypoxia and its downstream support of tumor pathogenesis. An important consideration for the successful implementation of such strategies in the clinic is that not all PDACs are equally hypoxic, therefore hypoxia-detection approaches should be integrated to enable optimal patient selection for achieving improved patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raefa Abou Khouzam
- Thumbay Research Institute for Precision Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman P.O. Box 4184, United Arab Emirates
| | - Jean-Marie Lehn
- Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires (ISIS), Université de Strasbourg, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Hemma Mayr
- Swiss Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) and Transplantation Center, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Surgery & Transplantation, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Pierre-Alain Clavien
- Swiss Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) and Transplantation Center, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Surgery & Transplantation, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Bradley Wallace
- Gastroenterology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Abu Dhabi P.O. Box 11001, United Arab Emirates
| | - Michel Ducreux
- Department of Cancer Medicine, Gustave Roussy Cancer Institute, F-94805 Villejuif, France
| | - Perparim Limani
- Swiss Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) and Transplantation Center, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Surgery & Transplantation, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland
- Correspondence: (P.L.); (S.C.); Tel.: +41-78-859-68-07 (P.L.); +33-(0)1-42-11-45-47 (S.C.)
| | - Salem Chouaib
- Thumbay Research Institute for Precision Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman P.O. Box 4184, United Arab Emirates
- INSERM UMR 1186, Integrative Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Gustave Roussy, Faculty of Medicine, University Paris-Saclay, F-94805 Villejuif, France
- Correspondence: (P.L.); (S.C.); Tel.: +41-78-859-68-07 (P.L.); +33-(0)1-42-11-45-47 (S.C.)
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16
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Kohil A, Amir SS, Behrens A, Khan OM. A small Rho GTPase RAB25 with a potential role in chemotherapy resistance in pancreatic cancer. Cancer Biomark 2022; 36:133-145. [PMID: 36565104 DOI: 10.3233/cbm-220214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is one of the major human health challenges with minimal therapeutic benefits due to its late detection, and de novo - and acquired chemotherapy resistance. OBJECTIVE In this work we unravel the potential pro-survival role of RAB25 in pancreatic cancer chemotherapy resistance and aim to identify if RAB25 is a prognostic marker of patients' survival in PDA. METHODS We used RNA sequencing, shRNA mediated gene knockdown, BioGRID open repository of CRISPR screens (ORCS), GEPIA, kmplot.com, and cBioPortal.org databases to identify the role of RAB25 in PDA cell proliferation, chemotherapy response, expression in tumour versus normal tissues, and overall patients' survival. RESULTS RNA sequencing show Rab25 to be one of the top upregulated genes in gemcitabine resistance mouse PDA cells. Knockdown of Rab25 in these cells enhanced gemcitabine toxicity. In addition, re-analysis of previously published CRISPR/Cas9 data confirm RAB25 to be responsible for chemotherapy resistance in KRASG12D mutant human pancreatic cancer cell line. Finally, we used publicly available TCGA datasets and identify the upregulation of RAB25 in tumour tissues compared to the adjacent normal tissue, co-occurrence of KRASG12 mutations with RAB25 amplifications, and poor patients' survival in cohorts with higher mRNA expression of RAB25. CONCLUSION RAB25 expression is a prognostic marker for patient's survival and gemcitabine resistance in PDA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amira Kohil
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences, College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Sayeda S Amir
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences, College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Axel Behrens
- The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.,Cancer Stem Cell Team, Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Omar M Khan
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences, College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
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17
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Tu Q, Liu X, Yao X, Li R, Liu G, Jiang H, Li K, Chen Q, Huang X, Chang Q, Xu G, Zhu H, Shi P, Zhao B. RETSAT associates with DDX39B to promote fork restarting and resistance to gemcitabine based chemotherapy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2022; 41:274. [PMID: 36109793 PMCID: PMC9476698 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-022-02490-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Severe hypoxia is a prominent character of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) microenvironment. In the process of gemcitabine based chemotherapy, PDAC cells are insulted from replication stresses co-induced by hypoxia and gemcitabine. However, PDAC cells get outstanding abilities to resist to such harsh conditions and keep proliferating, causing a major obstacle for current therapy. RETSAT (Retinol Saturase) is defined as a hypoxia convergent gene recently, with high expression in PDAC hypoxic sectors. This study aimed to explore the roles of RETSAT in replication stress resistance and hypoxia adaptation in PDAC cells, and decipher the underlying mechanism.
Methods
The expression of RETSAT was examined in TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas), human pancreatic cancer microarray, clinical specimens and cell lines. Functions of RETSAT were studied by means of DNA fiber assay and comet assay in monolayer cultured PDAC cell lines, three dimensional spheroids, patient derived organoids and cell derived xenograft mouse models. Mechanism was investigated by using iPOND (isolate proteins on nascent DNA) combined with mass spectrometry, immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting.
Results
First, we found the converse relationship of RETSAT expression and PDAC chemotherapy. That is, PDAC patients with high RETSAT expression correlated with poor survival, while ones holding low RETSAT expression were benefitted more in Gemcitabine based chemotherapy. Second, we identified RETSAT as a novel replication fork associated protein. HIF-1α signaling promotes RETSAT expression under hypoxia. Functionally, RETSAT promoted fork restarting under replication stress and maintained genomic stability. Third, we uncovered the interaction of RETSAT and R-loop unwinding helicase DDX39B. RETSAT detained DDX39B on forks to resolve R-loops, through which avoided fork damage and CHK1 initiated apoptosis. Targeting DDX39B using chemical CCT018159 sensitized PDAC cells and organoids to gemcitabine induced apoptosis, highlighting the synergetic application of CCT018159 and gemcitabine in PDAC chemotherapy.
Conclusions
This study identified RETSAT as a novel replication fork protein, which functions through interacting with DDX39B mediated R-loop clearance to promote fork restarting, leading to cellular resistance to replication stresses co-induced by tumor environmental hypoxia and gemcitabine in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
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18
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Koltai T, Reshkin SJ, Carvalho TMA, Di Molfetta D, Greco MR, Alfarouk KO, Cardone RA. Resistance to Gemcitabine in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Physiopathologic and Pharmacologic Review. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:2486. [PMID: 35626089 PMCID: PMC9139729 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14102486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a very aggressive tumor with a poor prognosis and inadequate response to treatment. Many factors contribute to this therapeutic failure: lack of symptoms until the tumor reaches an advanced stage, leading to late diagnosis; early lymphatic and hematic spread; advanced age of patients; important development of a pro-tumoral and hyperfibrotic stroma; high genetic and metabolic heterogeneity; poor vascular supply; a highly acidic matrix; extreme hypoxia; and early development of resistance to the available therapeutic options. In most cases, the disease is silent for a long time, andwhen it does become symptomatic, it is too late for ablative surgery; this is one of the major reasons explaining the short survival associated with the disease. Even when surgery is possible, relapsesare frequent, andthe causes of this devastating picture are the low efficacy ofand early resistance to all known chemotherapeutic treatments. Thus, it is imperative to analyze the roots of this resistance in order to improve the benefits of therapy. PDAC chemoresistance is the final product of different, but to some extent, interconnected factors. Surgery, being the most adequate treatment for pancreatic cancer and the only one that in a few selected cases can achieve longer survival, is only possible in less than 20% of patients. Thus, the treatment burden relies on chemotherapy in mostcases. While the FOLFIRINOX scheme has a slightly longer overall survival, it also produces many more adverse eventsso that gemcitabine is still considered the first choice for treatment, especially in combination with other compounds/agents. This review discusses the multiple causes of gemcitabine resistance in PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stephan Joel Reshkin
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy; (T.M.A.C.); (D.D.M.); (M.R.G.); (R.A.C.)
| | - Tiago M. A. Carvalho
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy; (T.M.A.C.); (D.D.M.); (M.R.G.); (R.A.C.)
| | - Daria Di Molfetta
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy; (T.M.A.C.); (D.D.M.); (M.R.G.); (R.A.C.)
| | - Maria Raffaella Greco
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy; (T.M.A.C.); (D.D.M.); (M.R.G.); (R.A.C.)
| | - Khalid Omer Alfarouk
- Zamzam Research Center, Zamzam University College, Khartoum 11123, Sudan;
- Alfarouk Biomedical Research LLC, Temple Terrace, FL 33617, USA
| | - Rosa Angela Cardone
- Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy; (T.M.A.C.); (D.D.M.); (M.R.G.); (R.A.C.)
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Onishi H, Nakamura K, Yanai K, Nagai S, Nakayama K, Oyama Y, Fujimura A, Ozono K, Yamasaki A. Cancer therapy that targets the Hedgehog signaling pathway considering the cancer microenvironment (Review). Oncol Rep 2022; 47:93. [DOI: 10.3892/or.2022.8304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Hideya Onishi
- Department of Cancer Therapy and Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812‑8582, Japan
| | - Katsuya Nakamura
- Department of Cancer Therapy and Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812‑8582, Japan
| | - Kosuke Yanai
- Department of Cancer Therapy and Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812‑8582, Japan
| | - Shuntaro Nagai
- Department of Cancer Therapy and Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812‑8582, Japan
| | - Kazunori Nakayama
- Department of Cancer Therapy and Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812‑8582, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Oyama
- Department of Cancer Therapy and Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812‑8582, Japan
| | - Akiko Fujimura
- Department of Cancer Therapy and Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812‑8582, Japan
| | - Keigo Ozono
- Department of Cancer Therapy and Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812‑8582, Japan
| | - Akio Yamasaki
- Department of Cancer Therapy and Research, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812‑8582, Japan
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20
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Kpeglo D, Hughes MD, Dougan L, Haddrick M, Knowles MA, Evans SD, Peyman SA. Modeling the mechanical stiffness of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Matrix Biol Plus 2022; 14:100109. [PMID: 35399702 PMCID: PMC8990173 DOI: 10.1016/j.mbplus.2022.100109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The PDAC stroma stiffness underlines its malignant behavior and drug resistance. 3D in vitro cultures must model the PDAC stroma to effectively drug efficacy. PSCs are responsible for the stroma, and its activity is increased with TGF-β. Develop a 3D culture model of PDAC, which includes PSCs and TGF-β. Assess the mechanical stiffness, stain for collagen, and investigate gemcitabine efficacy.
Despite improvements in the understanding of disease biology, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains the most malignant cancer of the pancreas. PDAC constitutes ∼95% of all pancreatic cancers, and it is highly resistant to therapeutics. The increased tissue rigidity, which stems from the rich fibrotic stroma in the tumor microenvironment, is central to disease development, physiology, and resistance to drug perfusion. Pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) are responsible for overproduction of extracellular matrix in the fibrotic stroma, and this is exacerbated by the overexpression of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). However, there are few in vitro PDAC models, which include both PSCs and TGF-β or mimic in vivo-like tumor stiffness. In this study, we present a three-dimensional in vitro PDAC model, which includes PSCs and TGF-β, and recapitulates PDAC tissue mechanical stiffness. Using oscillatory shear rheology, we show the mechanical stiffness of the model is within range of the PDAC tissue stiffness by day 21 of culture and highlight that the matrix environment is essential to adequately capture PDAC disease. PDAC is a complex, aggressive disease with poor prognosis, and biophysically relevant in vitro PDAC models, which take into account tissue mechanics, will provide improved tumor models for effective therapeutic assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Delanyo Kpeglo
- Molecular and Nanoscale Physics Group, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, LS2 9 JT, UK
| | - Matthew D.G. Hughes
- Molecular and Nanoscale Physics Group, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, LS2 9 JT, UK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Lorna Dougan
- Molecular and Nanoscale Physics Group, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, LS2 9 JT, UK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Malcolm Haddrick
- Medicines Discovery Catapult, Block 35, Mereside Alderley Park, Alderley Edge, SK10 4TG, UK
| | - Margaret A. Knowles
- Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St James’s (LIMR), School of Medicine, University of Leeds, LS2 9 JT, UK
| | - Stephen D. Evans
- Molecular and Nanoscale Physics Group, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, LS2 9 JT, UK
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Sally A. Peyman
- Molecular and Nanoscale Physics Group, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, LS2 9 JT, UK
- Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St James’s (LIMR), School of Medicine, University of Leeds, LS2 9 JT, UK
- Corresponding author at: Molecular and Nanoscale Physics Group, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, LS2 9 JT, UK.
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21
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has become a serious health problem with high impact worldwide. The heterogeneity of PDAC makes it difficult to apply drug delivery systems (DDS) used in other cancer models, for example, the poorly developed vascular system makes anti-angiogenic therapy ineffective. Due to its various malignant pathological changes, drug delivery against PDAC is a matter of urgent concern. Based on this situation, various drug delivery strategies specially designed for PDAC have been generated. AREAS COVERED This review will briefly describe how delivery systems can be designed through nanotechnology and formulation science. Most research focused on penetrating the stromal barrier, exploiting and alleviating the hypoxic microenvironment, targeting immune cells, or designing vaccines, and combination therapies. This review will summarize the ways to reverse the malignant pathological features of PDAC and hopefully provide ideas for subsequent studies. EXPERT OPINION Drug delivery systems designed to achieve penetrating functions or to alleviate hypoxia and activate immunity have achieved good therapeutic results in animal models in several studies. In future studies, there is a need to deliver PDAC therapeutics in a more precise manner, or the use of drug carriers for multiple functions simultaneously, are potential therapeutic strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haolin Song
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Fudan University, Shanghai, Sichuan, 201203 China
| | - Chen Jiang
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Fudan University, Shanghai, Sichuan, 201203 China
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22
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Urbanova M, Buocikova V, Trnkova L, Strapcova S, Kajabova VH, Melian EB, Novisedlakova M, Tomas M, Dubovan P, Earl J, Bizik J, Svastova E, Ciernikova S, Smolkova B. DNA Methylation Mediates EMT Gene Expression in Human Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Cell Lines. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:2117. [PMID: 35216235 PMCID: PMC8879087 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23042117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to abundant stroma and extracellular matrix, accompanied by lack of vascularization, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by severe hypoxia. Epigenetic regulation is likely one of the mechanisms driving hypoxia-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), responsible for PDAC aggressiveness and dismal prognosis. To verify the role of DNA methylation in this process, we assessed gene expression and DNA methylation changes in four PDAC cell lines. BxPC-3, MIA PaCa-2, PANC-1, and SU.86.86 cells were exposed to conditioned media containing cytokines and inflammatory molecules in normoxic and hypoxic (1% O2) conditions for 2 and 6 days. Cancer Inflammation and Immunity Crosstalk and Human Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition RT² Profiler PCR Arrays were used to identify top deregulated inflammatory and EMT-related genes. Their mRNA expression and DNA methylation were quantified by qRT-PCR and pyrosequencing. BxPC-3 and SU.86.86 cell lines were the most sensitive to hypoxia and inflammation. Although the methylation of gene promoters correlated with gene expression negatively, it was not significantly influenced by experimental conditions. However, DNA methyltransferase inhibitor decitabine efficiently decreased DNA methylation up to 53% and reactivated all silenced genes. These results confirm the role of DNA methylation in EMT-related gene regulation and uncover possible new targets involved in PDAC progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Urbanova
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.U.); (V.B.); (L.T.); (V.H.K.); (M.T.); (P.D.); (J.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Verona Buocikova
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.U.); (V.B.); (L.T.); (V.H.K.); (M.T.); (P.D.); (J.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Lenka Trnkova
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.U.); (V.B.); (L.T.); (V.H.K.); (M.T.); (P.D.); (J.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Sabina Strapcova
- Department of Tumor Biology, Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (S.S.); (E.S.)
| | - Viera Horvathova Kajabova
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.U.); (V.B.); (L.T.); (V.H.K.); (M.T.); (P.D.); (J.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Emma Barreto Melian
- Molecular Epidemiology and Predictive Tumor Markers Group, Ramón y Cajal Health Research Institute (IRYCIS), Biomedical Research Network in Cancer (CIBERONC), Carretera Colmenar Km 9,100, 28034 Madrid, Spain; (E.B.M.); (J.E.)
| | - Maria Novisedlakova
- Oncology Outpatient Clinic, Hospital of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, 814 65 Bratislava, Slovakia;
| | - Miroslav Tomas
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.U.); (V.B.); (L.T.); (V.H.K.); (M.T.); (P.D.); (J.B.); (S.C.)
- Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Slovak Medical University, Klenova 1, 833 10 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Peter Dubovan
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.U.); (V.B.); (L.T.); (V.H.K.); (M.T.); (P.D.); (J.B.); (S.C.)
- Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Slovak Medical University, Klenova 1, 833 10 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Julie Earl
- Molecular Epidemiology and Predictive Tumor Markers Group, Ramón y Cajal Health Research Institute (IRYCIS), Biomedical Research Network in Cancer (CIBERONC), Carretera Colmenar Km 9,100, 28034 Madrid, Spain; (E.B.M.); (J.E.)
| | - Jozef Bizik
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.U.); (V.B.); (L.T.); (V.H.K.); (M.T.); (P.D.); (J.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Eliska Svastova
- Department of Tumor Biology, Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (S.S.); (E.S.)
| | - Sona Ciernikova
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.U.); (V.B.); (L.T.); (V.H.K.); (M.T.); (P.D.); (J.B.); (S.C.)
| | - Bozena Smolkova
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (M.U.); (V.B.); (L.T.); (V.H.K.); (M.T.); (P.D.); (J.B.); (S.C.)
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Zhuang H, Wang S, Chen B, Zhang Z, Ma Z, Li Z, Liu C, Zhou Z, Gong Y, Huang S, Hou B, Chen Y, Zhang C. Prognostic Stratification Based on HIF-1 Signaling for Evaluating Hypoxic Status and Immune Infiltration in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinomas. Front Immunol 2021; 12:790661. [PMID: 34925373 PMCID: PMC8677693 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.790661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a hypoxic and desmoplastic tumor microenvironment (TME), leading to treatment failure. We aimed to develop a prognostic classifier to evaluate hypoxia status and hypoxia-related molecular characteristics of PDAC. In this study, we classified PDAC into three clusters based on 16 known hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1)-related genes. Nine differentially expressed genes were identified to construct an HIF-1 score system, whose predictive efficacy was evaluated. Furthermore, we investigated oncogenic pathways and immune-cell infiltration status of PDAC with different scores. The C-index of the HIF-1score system for OS prediction in the meta-PDAC cohort and the other two validation cohorts were 0.67, 0.63, and 0.65, respectively, indicating that it had a good predictive value for patient survival. Furthermore, the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the HIF-1α score system for predicting 1-, 3-, and 4-year OS indicated the HIF-1α score system had an optimal discrimination of prognostic prediction for PDAC. Importantly, our model showed superior predictive ability compared to previous hypoxia signatures. We also classified PDAC into HIF-1 scores of low, medium, and high groups. Then, we found high enrichment of glycolysis, mTORC1 signaling, and MYC signaling in the HIF-1 score high group, whereas the cGMP metabolic process was activated in the low score group. Of note, analysis of public datasets and our own dataset showed a high HIF-1 score was associated with high immunosuppressive TME, evidenced by fewer infiltrated CD8+ T cells, B cells, and type 1 T-helper cells and reduced cytolytic activity of CD8+ T cells. In summary, we established a specific HIF-1 score system to discriminate PDAC with various hypoxia statuses and immune microenvironments. For highly hypoxic and immunosuppressive tumors, a combination treatment strategy should be considered in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongkai Zhuang
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shujie Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bo Chen
- Department of Breast Cancer, Cancer Center, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zedan Zhang
- Department of Urology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Zuyi Ma
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhenchong Li
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chunsheng Liu
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zixuan Zhou
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuanfeng Gong
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shanzhou Huang
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Baohua Hou
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yajin Chen
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chuanzhao Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
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Cai W, Bao W, Chen S, Yang Y, Li Y. Metabolic syndrome related gene signature predicts the prognosis of patients with pancreatic ductal carcinoma. A novel link between metabolic dysregulation and pancreatic ductal carcinoma. Cancer Cell Int 2021; 21:698. [PMID: 34930261 PMCID: PMC8690436 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-021-02378-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Pancreatic cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. In recent years, specific metabolic activities, which involves the development of tumor, caused wide public concern. In this study, we wish to explore the correlation between metabolism and progression of tumor. Methods A retrospective analysis including 95 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and PDAC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), and The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were involved in our study. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to construct the prognosis model. The potential connection between metabolism and immunity of PDAC was investigated through a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). 22 types of Tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) between high-risk and low-risk groups were estimated through CIBERSORT. Moreover, the potential immune-related signaling pathways between high-risk and low-risk groups were explored through the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The role of key gene GMPS in developing pancreatic tumor was further investigated through CCK-8, colony-information, and Transwell. Results The prognostic value of the MetS factors was analyzed using the Cox regression model, and a clinical MetS-based nomogram was established. Then, we established a metabolism-related signature to predict the prognosis of PDAC patients based on the TCGA databases and was validated in the ICGC database and the GEO database to find the distinct molecular mechanism of MetS genes in PDAC. The result of WGCNA showed that the blue module was associated with risk score, and genes in the blue module were found to be enriched in the immune-related signaling pathway. Furthermore, the result of CIBERSORT demonstrated that proportions of T cells CD8, T cells Regulatory, Tregs NK cells Activated, Dendritic cells Activated, and Mast cells Resting were different between high-risk and low-risk groups. These differences are potential causes of different prognoses of PDAC patients. GSEA and the protein–protein interaction network (PPI) further revealed that our metabolism-related signature was significantly enriched in immune‐related biological processes. Moreover, knockdown of GMPS in PDAC cells suppressed proliferation, migration, and invasion of tumor cells, whereas overexpression of GMPS performed oppositely. Conclusion The results shine light on fundamental mechanisms of metabolic genes on PDAC and establish a reliable and referable signature to evaluate the prognosis of PDAC. GMPS was identified as a potential candidate oncogene with in PDAC, which can be a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for PDAC treatment. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-02378-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiyang Cai
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Wenming Bao
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Shengwei Chen
- Department of Nephrology, The People's Hospital of Yuhuan, The Yuhuan Branch of The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Yuhuan, China
| | - Yan Yang
- Department of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 109 Xueyuanxi Road, Wenzhou, 325000, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yanyan Li
- Department of Ultrasound, Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 109 Xueyuanxi Road, Wenzhou, 325000, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
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Narayanan S, Vicent S, Ponz-Sarvisé M. PDAC as an Immune Evasive Disease: Can 3D Model Systems Aid to Tackle This Clinical Problem? Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:787249. [PMID: 34957115 PMCID: PMC8703167 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.787249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer with a high mortality rate. The presence of a dense desmoplastic stroma rich in fibroblasts, extracellular matrix, and immune cells plays a critical role in disease progression, therapy response and is a distinguishing feature of PDAC. PDAC is currently treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy in selected cases which results in long-term survival only in a small percentage of patients. Cancer therapies that incorporate immunotherapy-based techniques have become increasingly common in recent years. While such a strategy has been shown to be effective for immunogenic, “hot” tumors like melanoma and lung cancer, thus far PDAC patients display poor responses to this therapeutic approach. Various factors, such as low tumor mutational burden, increased infiltration of immunosuppressive cells, like MDSCs and Treg cells promote tolerance and immune deviation, further aggravating adaptive immunity in PDAC. In this review we will elaborate on the ability of PDAC tumors to evade immune detection. We will also discuss various 3D model system that can be used as a platform in preclinical research to investigate rational combinations of immunotherapy with chemotherapy or targeted therapy, to prime the immune microenvironment to enhance antitumor activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shruthi Narayanan
- Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Medical Oncology Department, Pamplona, Spain
- Program in Solid Tumors, Center for Applied Medical Research, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Silve Vicent
- Program in Solid Tumors, Center for Applied Medical Research, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- *Correspondence: Silve Vicent, ; Mariano Ponz-Sarvisé,
| | - Mariano Ponz-Sarvisé
- Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Medical Oncology Department, Pamplona, Spain
- Program in Solid Tumors, Center for Applied Medical Research, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain
- Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- *Correspondence: Silve Vicent, ; Mariano Ponz-Sarvisé,
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Abstract
Radiotherapy should have low toxicity in the entrance channel (normal tissue) and be very effective in cell killing in the target region (tumour). In this regard, ions heavier than protons have both physical and radiobiological advantages over conventional X-rays. Carbon ions represent an excellent combination of physical and biological advantages. There are a dozen carbon-ion clinical centres in Europe and Asia, and more under construction or at the planning stage, including the first in the USA. Clinical results from Japan and Germany are promising, but a heated debate on the cost-effectiveness is ongoing in the clinical community, owing to the larger footprint and greater expense of heavy ion facilities compared with proton therapy centres. We review here the physical basis and the clinical data with carbon ions and the use of different ions, such as helium and oxygen. Research towards smaller and cheaper machines with more effective beam delivery is necessary to make particle therapy affordable. The potential of heavy ions has not been fully exploited in clinics and, rather than there being a single 'silver bullet', different particles and their combination can provide a breakthrough in radiotherapy treatments in specific cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Durante
- Biophysics Department, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany
- Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Jürgen Debus
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
- German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jay S. Loeffler
- Departments of Radiation Oncology and Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Chen J, Bao Y, Song Y, Zhang C, Qiu F, Sun Y, Xin L, Cao J, Jiang Y, Luo J, Zhang C, Wang G, Li Q, Liu Y, Tong W, Huang P. Hypoxia-alleviated nanoplatform to enhance chemosensitivity and sonodynamic effect in pancreatic cancer. Cancer Lett 2021; 520:100-108. [PMID: 34245853 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is a severe disease that threatens human health. The hypoxic tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer leads to resistance to conventional therapies and helps to maintain tumor malignancy. First-line drugs present the disadvantage of systemic side effects, and a synergistic method with sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has been established as an emerging approach. In this study, we produced hypoxia-alleviating nanoplatforms (denoted as PZGI NPs) with zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-90 (ZIF-90) nanoparticles nucleating on platinum (Pt) nanoparticles and co-loaded with gemcitabine and IR780. This platform can catalyze peroxide to oxygen with loaded Pt nanoparticles to alleviate tumor hypoxia. Moreover, the loaded drugs could be quickly released in the lysosome microenvironment, which has a low pH value and high ATP level microenvironment in the mitochondria. This strategy could enhance the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy. Further, under ultrasound exposure, it could transfer the produced oxygen into a highly cytotoxic singlet oxygen for the augmented sonodynamic effect. Therefore, this multifunctional hypoxia-alleviating nanoplatform offers a promising strategy for chemo-sonodynamic therapy against pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jifan Chen
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Yuheng Bao
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Ministry of Education, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310007, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Yue Song
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Cong Zhang
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Fuqiang Qiu
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Yu Sun
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Lei Xin
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Jing Cao
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Yifan Jiang
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Jiali Luo
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Chao Zhang
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Guowei Wang
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Qunyin Li
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Yajing Liu
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Weijun Tong
- MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Ministry of Education, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310007, China.
| | - Pintong Huang
- Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China; Research Center of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China.
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Chen D, Huang H, Zang L, Gao W, Zhu H, Yu X. Development and Verification of the Hypoxia- and Immune-Associated Prognostic Signature for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Front Immunol 2021; 12:728062. [PMID: 34691034 PMCID: PMC8526937 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.728062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
We aim to construct a hypoxia- and immune-associated risk score model to predict the prognosis of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). By unsupervised consensus clustering algorithms, we generate two different hypoxia clusters. Then, we screened out 682 hypoxia-associated and 528 immune-associated PDAC differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of PDAC using Pearson correlation analysis based on the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression project (GTEx) dataset. Seven hypoxia and immune-associated signature genes (S100A16, PPP3CA, SEMA3C, PLAU, IL18, GDF11, and NR0B1) were identified to construct a risk score model using the Univariate Cox regression and the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) Cox regression, which stratified patients into high- and low-risk groups and were further validated in the GEO and ICGC cohort. Patients in the low-risk group showed superior overall survival (OS) to their high-risk counterparts (p < 0.05). Moreover, it was suggested by multivariate Cox regression that our constructed hypoxia-associated and immune-associated prognosis signature might be used as the independent factor for prognosis prediction (p < 0.001). By CIBERSORT and ESTIMATE algorithms, we discovered that patients in high-risk groups had lower immune score, stromal score, and immune checkpoint expression such as PD-L1, and different immunocyte infiltration states compared with those low-risk patients. The mutation spectrum also differs between high- and low-risk groups. To sum up, our hypoxia- and immune-associated prognostic signature can be used as an approach to stratify the risk of PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongjie Chen
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Hui Huang
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Longjun Zang
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Wenzhe Gao
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Hongwei Zhu
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Xiao Yu
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
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Alzhrani R, Alsaab HO, Vanamal K, Bhise K, Tatiparti K, Barari A, Sau S, Iyer AK. Overcoming the Tumor Microenvironmental Barriers of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinomas for Achieving Better Treatment Outcomes. Adv Ther (Weinh) 2021; 4:2000262. [PMID: 34212073 PMCID: PMC8240487 DOI: 10.1002/adtp.202000262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive disease with the lowest survival rate among all solid tumors. The lethality of PDAC arises from late detection and propensity of the tumor to metastasize and develop resistance against chemo and radiation therapy. A highly complex tumor microenvironment composed of dense stroma, immune cells, fibroblast, and disorganized blood vessels, is the main obstacle to current PDAC therapy. Despite the tremendous success of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancers, PDAC remains one of the poorest responders of ICIs therapy. The immunologically "cold" phenotype of PDAC is attributed to the low mutational burden, high infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells and T-regs, contributing to a significant immunotherapy resistance mechanism. Thus, the development of innovative strategies for turning immunologically "cold" tumor into "hot" ones is an unmet need to improve the outcome of PDAC ICIs therapies. Other smart strategies, such as nanomedicines, sonic Hedgehog inhibitor, or smoothened inhibitor, are discussed to enhance chemotherapeutic agents' efficiency by disrupting the PDAC stroma. This review highlights the current challenges and various preclinical and clinical strategies to overcome current PDAC therapy difficulties, thus significantly advancing PDAC research knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rami Alzhrani
- Use-Inspired Biomaterials and Integrated Nano Delivery Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit 48201, United States
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hashem O. Alsaab
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kushal Vanamal
- Use-Inspired Biomaterials and Integrated Nano Delivery Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit 48201, United States
| | - Ketki Bhise
- Use-Inspired Biomaterials and Integrated Nano Delivery Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit 48201, United States
| | - Katyayani Tatiparti
- Use-Inspired Biomaterials and Integrated Nano Delivery Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit 48201, United States
| | - Ayatakshi Barari
- Use-Inspired Biomaterials and Integrated Nano Delivery Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit 48201, United States
| | - Samaresh Sau
- Use-Inspired Biomaterials and Integrated Nano Delivery Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit 48201, United States
| | - Arun K. Iyer
- Use-Inspired Biomaterials and Integrated Nano Delivery Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit 48201, United States
- Molecular Therapeutics Program, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, United States
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30
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Pan C, Chen Z, Li C, Han T, Liu H, Wang X. Sestrin2 as a gatekeeper of cellular homeostasis: Physiological effects for the regulation of hypoxia-related diseases. J Cell Mol Med 2021; 25:5341-5350. [PMID: 33942488 PMCID: PMC8184687 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.16540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Sestrin2 (SESN2) is a conserved stress‐inducible protein (also known as hypoxia‐inducible gene 95 (HI95)) that is induced under hypoxic conditions. SESN2 represses the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and provides cytoprotection against various noxious stimuli, including hypoxia, oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and DNA damage. In recent years, the determination of the regulation and signalling mechanisms of SESN2 has increased our understanding of its role in the hypoxic response. SESN2 has well‐documented roles in hypoxia‐related diseases, making it a potential target for diagnosis and treatment. This review discusses the regulatory mechanisms of SESN2 and highlights the significance of SESN2 as a biomarker and therapeutic target in hypoxia‐related diseases, such as cancer, respiratory‐related diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cerebrovascular diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cunyao Pan
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Tianjin, China.,Department of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhaoli Chen
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Chao Li
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Tie Han
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Hui Liu
- Department of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xinxing Wang
- Tianjin Institute of Environmental and Operational Medicine, Tianjin, China
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31
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Zeng F, Zhang Y, Han X, Zeng M, Gao Y, Weng J. Employing hypoxia characterization to predict tumour immune microenvironment, treatment sensitivity and prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:2775-2789. [PMID: 34093992 PMCID: PMC8134035 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.03.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The hypoxic microenvironment was recognized as a major driving force of the malignant phenotype in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which contributes to tumour immune microenvironment (TIM) remodeling and tumor progression. Dysregulated hypoxia-related genes (HRGs) result in treatment resistance and poor prognosis by reshaping tumor cellular activities and metabolism. Approaches to identify the relationship between hypoxia and tumor progression provided new sight for improving tumor treatment and prognosis. But, few practical tools, forecasting relationship between hypoxia, TIM, treatment sensitivity and prognosis in HCC were reported. Here, we pooled mRNA transcriptome and clinical pathology data from the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and later developed a hypoxia risk model including four HRGs (DCN, DDIT4, PRKCA and NDRG1). The high-risk group displayed poor clinical characteristics, a malignant phenotype with carcinogenesis/proliferation pathways activation (MTORC1 and E2F) and immunosuppressive TIM (decreased immune cell infiltrations and upregulated immunosuppressive cytokines). Meanwhile, activated B cells, effector memory CD8 T cells and EZH2 deregulation were associated with patient’s survival, which might be the core changes of HCC hypoxia. Finally, we validated the ability of the hypoxia risk model to predict treatment sensitivity and found high hypoxia risk patients had poor responses to HCC treatment, including surgical resection, Sorafenib, Transarterial Chemoembolization (TACE) and immunotherapy. In conclusion, based on 4 HRGs, we developed and validated a hypoxia risk model to reflect pathological features, evaluate TIM landscape, predict treatment sensitivity and compounds specific to hypoxia signatures in HCC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanhong Zeng
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.,State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yue Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.,State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xu Han
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.,State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Min Zeng
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.,State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yi Gao
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.,State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jun Weng
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Artificial Organ and Tissue Engineering, Guangzhou Clinical Research and Transformation Center for Artificial Liver, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.,State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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32
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Li H, Peng C, Zhu C, Nie S, Qian X, Shi Z, Shi M, Liang Y, Ding X, Zhang S, Zhang B, Li X, Xu G, Lv Y, Wang L, Friess H, Kong B, Zou X, Shen S. Hypoxia promotes the metastasis of pancreatic cancer through regulating NOX4/KDM5A-mediated histone methylation modification changes in a HIF1A-independent manner. Clin Epigenetics 2021; 13:18. [PMID: 33499904 PMCID: PMC7836598 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01016-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hypoxia is a characteristic of the tumor microenvironments within pancreatic cancer (PC), which has been linked to its malignancy. Recently, hypoxia has been reported to regulate the activity of important carcinogenic pathways by changing the status of histone modification. NOX4, a member of NADPH oxidase (NOX), has been found to be activated by hypoxia and promote cancer progression in several cancers. But whether it is involved in the epigenetic changes of tumor cells induced by hypoxia is still unclear, and its biological roles in PC also need to be explored. Methods A hypoxic-related gene signature and its associated pathways in PC were identified by analyzing the pancreatic cancer gene expression data from GEO and TCGA database. Candidate downstream gene (NOX4), responding to hypoxia, was validated by RT-PCR and western blot. Then, we evaluated the relationship between NOX4 expression and clinicopathologic parameters in 56 PC patients from our center. In vitro and in vivo assays were preformed to explore the phenotype of NOX4 in PC. Immunofluorescence, western blot and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were further applied to search for a detailed mechanism. Results We quantified hypoxia and developed a hypoxia signature, which was associated with worse prognosis and elevated malignant potential in PC. Furthermore, we found that NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4), which was induced by hypoxia and upregulated in PC in a HIF1A-independent manner, caused inactivation of lysine demethylase 5A (KDM5A), increased the methylation modification of histone H3 and regulated the transcription of EMT-associated gene_ snail family transcriptional repressor 1 (SNAIL1). This served to promote the invasion and metastasis of PC. NOX4 deficiency repressed hypoxia-induced EMT, reduced expression of H3K4ME3 and impaired the invasion and metastasis of PC cells; however, knockdown of KDM5A reversed the poor expression of H3KEME3 induced by NOX4 deficiency, thereby promoting EMT. Conclusions This study highlights the prognostic role of hypoxia-related genes in PC and strong correlation with EMT pathway. Our results also creatively discovered that NOX4 was an essential mediator for hypoxia-induced histone methylation modification and EMT in PC cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongzhen Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Chunyan Peng
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Chenhui Zhu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shuang Nie
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xuetian Qian
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhao Shi
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Mengyue Shi
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yan Liang
- Department of Pathology, East Region Military Command General Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xiwei Ding
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shu Zhang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xihan Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Guifang Xu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ying Lv
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Lei Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China
| | - Helmut Friess
- Department of Surgery, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
| | - Bo Kong
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China.,Department of Surgery, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
| | - Xiaoping Zou
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China. .,Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Shanshan Shen
- Department of Gastroenterology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China.
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