Overexpression of CD155 is associated with PD-1 and PD-L1 expression on immune cells,rather than tumor cells in the breast cancer microenvironment

BACKGROUND CD155 is an immune checkpoint protein in cancers and interacts with ligands to regulate the immune microenvironment.The expression of CD155 is correlated with the prognosis and pathological features of breast cancer.AIM To investigate the expression status of CD155 and the association with exhausted CD4+helper and CD8+cytotoxic tumor infiltrating lymphocytes(TILs)and PD-L1 in the breast cancer microenvironment.METHODS One hundred and twenty-six breast cancer patients with invasive ductal breast cancer were consecutively recruited into this study.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression CD155,PD-L1 and PD-1 on tumor-infiltrating immune cells and tumor cells in the microenvironment.RESULTS The proportion of patients with CD155 expression was higher in triple negative breast cancer(72.7%)than in Luminal A patients(22.2%,P<0.05).Patients with positive CD155 expression had a higher percentage of CD4+/PD-1+helper TILs(30%)than patients with negative CD155 expression(21%,P<0.05).Patients with positive CD155 expression also had higher cell counts of exhausted CD4+TILs[47 vs 20/high-power fields(HPF)]and unexhausted CD8+TILs(30 vs 17/HPF)than patients with negative expression(P<0.05).CD155 expression was correlated with increased PD-L1 expression in immune cells,0.8%and 0.02%immune cells expressed PD-L1 in patients with positive and negative CD155 expression,respectively(P<0.05).CONCLUSION CD155 was related to an inhibitory immune breast cancer microenvironment.CD155 was associated with a high proportion of exhausted CD4+and unexhausted CD8+TILs and high PD-L1 expression in immune cells.

Revolutionizing gastric cancer treatment:The potential of immunotherapy

Gastric cancer,a prevalent malignancy worldwide,ranks sixth in terms of frequency and third in fatality,causing over a million new cases and 769000 annual deaths.Predominant in Eastern Europe and Eastern Asia,risk factors include family medical history,dietary habits,tobacco use,Helicobacter pylori,and Epstein-Barr virus infections.Unfortunately,gastric cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage,leading to a grim prognosis,with a 5-year overall survival rate below 5%.Surgical intervention,particularly with D2 Lymphadenectomy,is the mainstay for early-stage cases but offers limited success.For advanced cases,the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends chemotherapy,radiation,and targeted therapy.Emerging immunotherapy presents promise,especially for unresectable or metastatic cases,with strategies like immune checkpoint inhibitors,tumor vaccines,adoptive immunotherapy,and nonspecific immunomodulators.In this Editorial,with regards to the article“Advances and key focus areas in gastric cancer immunotherapy:A comprehensive scientometric and clinical trial review”,we address the advances in the field of immunotherapy in gastric cancer and its future prospects.

The history and advances in cancer immunotherapy:understanding the characteristics of tumor-infiltrating immune cells and their therapeutic implications

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment and rejuvenated the field of tumor immunology.Several types of immunotherapy,including adoptive cell transfer(ACT)and immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs),have obtained durable clinical responses,but their efficacies vary,and only subsets of cancer patients can benefit from them.Immune infiltrates in the tumor microenvironment(TME)have been shown to play a key role in tumor development and will affect the clinical outcomes of cancer patients.Comprehensive profiling of tumor-infiltrating immune cells would shed light on the mechanisms of cancer–immune evasion,thus providing opportunities for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.However,the highly heterogeneous and dynamic nature of the TME impedes the precise dissection of intratumoral immune cells.With recent advances in single-cell technologies such as single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)and mass cytometry,systematic interrogation of the TME is feasible and will provide insights into the functional diversities of tumor-infiltrating immune cells.In this review,we outline the recent progress in cancer immunotherapy,particularly by focusing on landmark studies and the recent single-cell characterization of tumor-associated immune cells,and we summarize the phenotypic diversities of intratumoral immune cells and their connections with cancer immunotherapy.We believe such a review could strengthen our understanding of the progress in cancer immunotherapy,facilitate the elucidation of immune cell modulation in tumor progression,and thus guide the development of novel immunotherapies for cancer treatment.

Recognition of prognostic biomarker and its association with immune infiltrates in breast cancer associated with inflammation

Objective:To identify prognostic biomarkers in breast cancer(BRCA)associated with inflammation.Materials andmethods:WGCNA was used to identify prognostic biomarkers in BRCA based on TCGA-BRCA and GSE70947 datasets.GO and KEGG exploration was made to analyze the specific mechanisms of interest genes.Results:There were 9 modules in TCGA-BRCA and 19 modules in the GSE70947 constructed and 639 overlapping genes extracted.There were ten genes recognized as hub genes,SAA1 and CXCL2 were identified as key genes.Furthermore,we found that SAA1 and CXCL2 were positively related to the levels of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in BRCA with TIMER.Conclusions:SAA1 and CXCL2 is highly correlated with BRCA and its prognosis was greatly related to TIICs.

基于TCGA数据库分析乳腺癌组织RBP7 mRNA表达与肿瘤免疫细胞浸润及预后的相关性

目的通过生物信息学的方法探讨视黄醇结合蛋白7(retinol binding protein 7,RBP7)在乳腺癌中的作用。方法使用R语言基于癌症基因组图谱(the cancer genome atlas,TCGA)数据库和人类蛋白质图谱(the human protein atlas,HPA)数据库探索基因RBP7在乳腺癌组织中的差异表达。通过Kaplan-Meier生存分析和受试者工作特征(receiver operating characteristic,ROC)曲线,评估RBP7与乳腺癌临床数据的关系。基于TCGA数据库分析RBP7高低表达分组与不同肿瘤浸润免疫细胞(tumor-infiltrating immune cells,TIICs)的相关性。基因组富集分析(gene set enrichment analysis,GSEA)评估RBP7在与表型相关度排序的基因表中的分布趋势。结果与癌旁组织相比,乳腺癌中RBP7 mRNA表达水平下调,该分子表达在细胞核中。ROC曲线分析显示RBP7诊断乳腺癌的曲线下面积(area under curve,AUC)是0.943(95%CI:0.926~0.960),RBP7的最佳截断值是6.29,敏感度和特异度分别为82.32%,93.69%。Kaplan-Meier生存分析显示RBP7低表达与乳腺癌患者的总生存率相关(HR=0.68,95%CI:0.49~0.93,P=0.017),RBP7是乳腺癌发生的独立危险因素。Spearman相关性揭示RBP7与乳腺癌中pDC细胞和NK细胞呈正相关(r=0.290,0.253,均P<0.05),与Th2细胞呈负相关(r=-0.217,P<0.05)。GSEA表明RBP7富集在脂肪生成、核糖体、肽配体结合受体、钙信号途径等通路中(均P<0.001)。结论RBP7影响乳腺癌的发生发展,可能成为乳腺癌潜在生物标志物和治疗靶点。

Prognostic and biological role of the N-Myc downstream-regulated gene family in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND The N-Myc downstream-regulated gene(NDRG)family is comprised of four members(NDRG1-4)involved in various important biological processes.However,there is no systematic evaluation of the prognostic of the NDRG family in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).AIM To analyze comprehensively the biological role of the NDRG family in HCC.METHODS The NDRG family expression was explored using The Cancer Genome Atlas.DNA methylation interactive visualization database was used for methylation analysis of the NDRG family.The NDRG family genomic alteration was assessed using the cBioPortal.Single-sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis was used to determine the degree of immune cell infiltration in tumors.RESULTS NDRG1 and NDRG3 were up-regulated in HCC,while NDRG2 was down-regulated.Consistent with expression patterns,high expression of NDRG1 and NDRG3 was associated with poor survival outcomes(P<0.05).High expression of NDRG2 was associated with favorable survival(P<0.005).An NDRG-based signature that statistically stratified the prognosis of the patients was constructed.The percentage of genetic alterations in the NDRG family varied from 0.3%to 11.0%,and the NDRG1 mutation rate was the highest.NDRG 1-3 expression was associated with various types of infiltrated immune cells.Gene ontology analysis revealed that organic acid catabolism was the most important biological process related to the NDRG family.Gene Set Enrichment Analysis showed that metabolic,proliferation,and immune-related gene sets were enriched during NDRG1 and NDRG3 high expression and NDRG2 low expression.CONCLUSION Overexpression of NDRG1 and NDRG3 and down-expression of NDRG2 are correlated with poor overall HCC prognosis.Our results may provide new insights into the indispensable role of NDRG1,2,and 3 in the development of HCC and guide a promising new strategy for treating HCC.

Up-regulation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1(IDO1)expression and catalytic activity is associated with immunosuppression and poor prognosis in penile squamous cell carcinoma patients

Background: Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and tryptophan (Trp)catabolism have been demonstrated to play an important role in tumor immunosuppression. This study examined the expression and catalytic activity of IDO1 in penilesquamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) and explored their clinical significance.Methods: IDO1 expression level, serum concentrations of Trp and kynurenine (Kyn)were examined in 114 PSCC patients by immunohistonchemistry and solid-phaseextraction-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Hazard ratio of death was analyzed via univariate and multivariate Cox regression. Immune cell types were definedby principal component analysis. The correlativity was assessed by Pearson’s correlation analysis.Results: The expression level of IDO1 in PSCC cells was positively correlatedwith serum Kyn concentration and Kyn/Trp radio (KTR;both P < 0.001) but negatively correlated with serum Trp concentration (P = 0.001). Additionally, IDO1 upregulation in cancer cells and the increase of serum KTR were significantly associated with advanced N stage (both P < 0.001) and high pathologic grade (P = 0.008and 0.032, respectively). High expression level of IDO1 in cancer cells and serumKTR were associated with short disease-specific survival (both P < 0.001). However, besides N stage (hazard radio [HR], 6.926;95% confidence interval [CI],2.458-19.068;P < 0.001) and pathologic grade (HR, 2.194;95% CI, 1.021-4.529;P = 0.038), only serum KTR (HR, 2.780;95% CI, 1.066-7.215;P = 0.036) was anindependent predictor for PSCC prognosis. IDO1 expression was positively correlated with the expression of interferon-𝛾 (IFN𝛾, P < 0.001) and immunosuppressivemarkers (programmed cell death protein 1, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 and programmed death-ligand 1 and 2;all P < 0.05), and the infiltration ofimmune cells (including cytotoxic T lymphocytes, regulatory T lymphocytes, tumorassociated macrophages, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells;all P < 0.001) inPSCC tissues. Furthermore, the expression of IDO1 was induced by IFN𝛾 in a dosedependent manner in PSCC cells.Conclusions: IFN𝛾-induced IDO1 plays a crucial role in immunoediting andimmunosuppression in PSCC. Additionally, serum KTR, an indicator of IDO1catabolic activity, can be utilized as an independent prognostic factor for PSCC.