DNA Damage-driven Inflammatory Cytokines:Reprogramming of Tumor Immune Microenvironment and Application of Oncotherapy

DNA damage occurs across tumorigenesis and tumor development.Tumor intrinsic DNA damage can not only increase the risk of mutations responsible for tumor generation but also initiate a cellular stress response to orchestrate the tumor immune microenvironment(TIME)and dominate tumor progression.Accumulating evidence documents that multiple signaling pathways,including cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes(cGAS-STING)and ataxia telangiectasia-mutated protein/ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein(ATM/ATR),are activated downstream of DNA damage and they are associated with the secretion of diverse cytokines.These cytokines possess multifaced functions in the anti-tumor immune response.Thus,it is necessary to deeply interpret the complex TIME reshaped by damaged DNA and tumor-derived cytokines,critical for the development of effective tumor therapies.This manuscript comprehensively reviews the relationship between the DNA damage response and related cytokines in tumors and depicts the dual immunoregulatory roles of these cytokines.We also summarize clinical trials targeting signaling pathways and cytokines associated with DNA damage and provide future perspectives on emerging technologies.

Elaiophylin triggers paraptosis and preferentially kills ovarian cancer drug-resistant cells by inducing MAPK hyperactivation

Finely tuned mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)signaling is important for cancer cell survival.Perturbations that push cells out of the MAPK fitness zone result in cell death.Previously,in a screen of the North China Pharmaceutical Group Corporation’s pure compound library of microbial origin,we identified elaiophylin as an autophagy inhibitor.Here,we demonstrated a new role for elaiophylin in inducing excessive endoplasmic reticulum(ER)stress,ER-derived cytoplasmic vacuolization,and consequent paraptosis by hyperactivating the MAPK pathway in multiple cancer cells.Genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout library screening identified SHP2,an upstream intermediary of the MAPK pathway,as a critical target in elaiophylin-induced paraptosis.The cellular thermal shift assay(CETSA)and surface plasmon resonance(SPR)assay further confirmed the direct binding between the SHP2 and elaiophylin.Inhibition of the SHP2/SOS1/MAPK pathway through SHP2 knockdown or pharmacological inhibitors distinctly attenuated elaiophylin-induced paraptosis and autophagy inhibition.Interestingly,elaiophylin markedly increased the alreadyelevated MAPK levels and preferentially killed drug-resistant cells with enhanced basal MAPK levels.Elaiophylin overcame drug resistance by triggering paraptosis in multiple tumor-bearing mouse models resistant to platinum,taxane,or PARPi,suggesting that elaiophylin might offer a reasonable therapeutic strategy for refractory ovarian cancer.

Platelet RNA enables accurate detection of ovarian cancer:an intercontinental,biomarker identification study

Platelets are reprogrammed by cancer via a process called education,which favors cancer development.The transcriptional profile of tumor-educated platelets(TEPs)is skewed and therefore practicable for cancer detection.This intercontinental,hospital-based,diagnostic study included 761 treatment-naive inpatients with histologically confirmed adnexal masses and 167 healthy controls from nine medical centers(China,n=3;Netherlands,n=5;Poland,n=1)between September 2016 and May 2019.The main outcomes were the performance of TEPs and their combination with CA125 in two Chinese(VC1 and VC2)and the European(VC3)validation cohorts collectively and independently.Exploratory outcome was the value of TEPs in public pan-cancer platelet transcriptome datasets.The AUCs for TEPs in the combined validation cohort,VC1,VC2,and VC3 were 0.918(95%CI 0.889-0.948),0.923(0.855-0.990),0.918(0.872-0.963),and 0.887(0.813-0.960),respectively.Combination of TEPs and CA125 demonstrated an AUC of 0.922(0.889-0.955)in the combined validation cohort;0.955(0.912-0.997)in VC1;0.939(0.901-0.977)in VC2;0.917(0.824-1.000)in VC3.For subgroup analysis,TEPs exhibited an AUC of o.858,0.859,and 0.920 to detect early-stage,borderline,non-epithelial diseases and 0.899 to discriminate ovarian cancer from endometriosis.TEPs had robustness,compatibility,and universality for preop.erative diagnosis of ovarian cancer since it withstood validations in populations of different ethnicities,heterogeneous histoiogical subtypes,and early-stage ovarian cancer.However,these observations warrant prospective validations in a larger population beforeclinicalutilities.

Platelet RNA signature independently predicts ovarian cancer prognosis by deep learning neural network model

Dear Editor,Platelets are circulating anucleate cytoplasmic fragments of megakaryocytes and characterized by their functions in wound healing and vascular integrity maintenance.Increasing evidence highlights the extensive reciprocal signaling interactions between platelets and tumor cells(Haemmerle et al.,2018).Tumor cells activate and aggregate platelets to sustain proliferation(Cho et al.,2012),resist apoptosis,and promote metastasis(Haemmerle et al.,2017).