Expression of Human Endogenous Retrovirus env-gene product is a hallmark of sidedness in operable colorectal cancer.

IF 2.5 3区医学 Q3 ONCOLOGY Oncology Pub Date : 2025-03-11 DOI:10.1159/000543099

Maria Dolci, Ivan Civettini, Pietro Francesco Bagnoli, Wafa Toumi, Lucia Signorini, Roberto Crocchiolo, Kevin Kamau Maina, Federica Perego, Pasquale Ferrante, Carolina Scagnolari, Marco Bregni, Serena Delbue

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: Human Endogenous RetroViruses (HERVs) account for approximately 8% of the human genome, where they are integrated and typically remain silent. Despite their inactivation, numerous retroviral sequences retain intact open reading frames (ORFs) capable of producing retroviral transcripts and/or proteins, which have been detected in colon cancer.

Methods: Three different cohorts of patients who underwent surgery at three different hospitals, comprising 167 Italian and Tunisian colon cancer patients, were analyzed. The expression levels of HERV-H, -K, -P env genes and HERV-K pol gene were assessed in tumor and adjacent healthy tissues using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Correlative analysis was conducted to investigate associations between clinicopathological factors, including tumor location, stage, patient age, lymphocyte infiltration, and vascular/perineural invasion, and HERV gene expression levels.

Results: HERV gene expression level was similar among samples from tumor and from adjacent healthy tissues. Significant (p<0.05) higher expression of HERV-P and -R env was observed in tumor tissues arising from right colon than from left colon, while HERV-H env was more (p<0.05) expressed in the left colon than in the right colon. A significant increase in the expression of HERV-H and -K env, following the increasing severity of tumor grade, was observed in the tumor tissue. HERV-H and -P env genes were more expressed in patients under 73 and over 73 years old, respectively, in the tumor tissue.

Conclusions: in colorectal cancer HERV env gene expression seems to represent a specific signature in tumor and/or adjacent healthy tissues, based on tumor location and patients' age. Analyzing differential HERVs expression and its correlation with clinicopathological patient characteristics could be valuable for identifying novel biomarkers and exploring potential therapeutic targets in colon cancer.

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来源期刊

Oncology 医学-肿瘤学

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

2.90%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： Although laboratory and clinical cancer research need to be closely linked, observations at the basic level often remain removed from medical applications. This journal works to accelerate the translation of experimental results into the clinic, and back again into the laboratory for further investigation. The fundamental purpose of this effort is to advance clinically-relevant knowledge of cancer, and improve the outcome of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of malignant disease. The journal publishes significant clinical studies from cancer programs around the world, along with important translational laboratory findings, mini-reviews (invited and submitted) and in-depth discussions of evolving and controversial topics in the oncology arena. A unique feature of the journal is a new section which focuses on rapid peer-review and subsequent publication of short reports of phase 1 and phase 2 clinical cancer trials, with a goal of insuring that high-quality clinical cancer research quickly enters the public domain, regardless of the trial’s ultimate conclusions regarding efficacy or toxicity.