Review of ferroptosis in colorectal cancer:Friends or foes?

Ferroptosis is a newly discovered type of cell-regulated death.It is characterized by the accumulation of iron-dependent lipid peroxidation and can be distinguished from other forms of cell-regulated death by different morphology,biochemistry,and genetics.Recently,studies have shown that ferroptosis is associated with a variety of diseases,including liver,kidney and neurological diseases,as well as cancer.Ferroptosis has been shown to be associated with colorectal epithelial disorders,which can lead to cancerous changes in the gut.However,the potential role of ferroptosis in the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer(CRC)is still controversial.To elucidate the underlying mechanisms of ferroptosis in CRC,this article systematically reviews ferroptosis,and its cellular functions in CRC,for furthering the understanding of the pathogenesis of CRC to aid clinical treatment.

Exosomes in metastasis of colorectal cancers: Friends or foes?

Colorectal cancer(CRC),the third most common type of cancer worldwide,threaten human health and quality of life.With multidisciplinary,including surgery,chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy,patients with an early diagnosis of CRC can have a good prognosis.However,metastasis in CRC patients is the main risk factor causing cancer-related death.To elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of CRC metastasis is the difficult and research focus on the investigation of the CRC mechanism.On the other hand,the tumor microenvironment(TME)has been confirmed as having an essential role in the tumorigenesis and metastasis of malignancies,including CRCs.Among the different factors in the TME,exosomes as extracellular vesicles,function as bridges in the communication between cancer cells and different components of the TME to promote the progression and metastasis of CRC.MicroRNAs packaged in exosomes can be derived from different sources and transported into the TME to perform oncogenic or tumor-suppressor roles accordingly.This article focuses on CRC exosomes and illustrates their role in regulating the metastasis of CRC,especially through the packaging of miRNAs,to evoke exosomes as novel biomarkers for their impact on the metastasis of CRC progression.

Immune responses of six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of the prostate 4 functions as a novel biomarker in gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Immune cells play an important role in regulating the behavior of tumor cells.According to emerging evidence,six-transmembrane epithelial antigen of the prostate 4(STEAP4)performs a crucial part in tumor microenvironmental immune response and tumorigenesis,and serves as the potential target for cellular and antibody immunotherapy.However,the immunotherapeutic role of STEAP4 in gastric cancer(GC)remains unclear.AIM To investigate the expression of STEAP4 in GC and its relationship with immune infiltrating cells,and explore the potential value of STEAP4 as an immune prognostic indicator in GC.METHODS The expression level of STEAP4 was characterized by immunohistochemistry in tumors and adjacent non-cancerous samples in 96 GC patients.Tumor Immune Estimation Resource was used to study the correlation between STEAP4 and tumor immune infiltration level and immune infiltration gene signature.R package was used to analyze the relationship between STEAP4 expression and immune and stromal scores in GC(GSE62254)by the ESTIMATE algorithm,and Kaplan-Meier Plotter and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis were applied to analyze the effect of STEAP4 on clinical prognosis.RESULTS Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that STEAP4 expression was higher in GC tissues than in adjacent tissues,and STEAP4 expression was positively correlated with the clinical stage of GC.In GC,the expression of STEAP4 was positively correlated with the infiltration levels of B cells,CD4+T cells,macrophages,neutrophils,and dendritic cells.The expression level of STEAP4 was strongly correlated with most of the immune markers.In addition,STEAP4 expression was inversely correlated with tumor purity,but correlated with stromal score(r=0.43,P<0.001),immune score(r=0.29,P<0.001)and estimate score(r=0.39,P<0.001).Moreover,stromal,immune,and estimate scores were higher in the STEAP4 high expression group,whereas tumor purity was higher in the STEAP4 Low expression group.The relationship between STEAP4 expression and prognosis of patients with GC was further investigated,and the results showed that high STEAP4 expression was associated with poor overall survival and disease-free survival.In addition,Kaplan-Meier Plotter showed that high expression of STEAP4 was significantly correlated with poor survival of patients with GC.CONCLUSION The current findings suggest an oncogenic role for STEAP4 in GC,with significantly high levels being associated with poor prognosis.Investigation of the GC tumor microenvironment suggests the potential function of STEAP4 is connected with the infiltration of diverse immune cells,which may contribute to the regulation of the tumor microenvironment.In conclusion,STEAP4 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for GC to improve the immune infiltration,as well as serve as a prognostic biomarker for judging the prognosis and immune infiltration status of GC.

CXCR4 and CXCR5 orchestrate dynamic germinal center reactions and may contribute to the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus

In a previous publication in Cellular and Molecular Immunology,Zhao et al.1 showed data from patients with treatment-naïve systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE),demonstrating the clinical significance and possible mechanisms of the aberrant expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 on lupus B cells.In this commentary,we will discuss the roles of CXCL12-CXCR4 and CXCL13-CXCR5 pairs and related signaling pathways in guiding dynamic germinal center(GC)reactions and B cell selection and describe how their dysregulation may contribute to the pathogenesis of SLE.