Carcinogenesis最新文献

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with roughly 41% of CRC cases harboring a KRAS mutation. Acquired resistance to KRAS-targeted treatments has occurred with mechanisms including increased HER family expression among other receptor tyrosine kinases. HER3, a member of the HER family that is kinase impaired, has been shown to be a resistance mechanism upon inhibition of the HER family and downstream targets, including RAS/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT. We find that KRAS mutations tend to co-occur with HER3 alterations in a large panel of cancers and in CRCs. Our results show that both total and activated HER3 levels increase in CRC patient-derived organoids and cell lines after treatment with KRASG12D targeted agents, indicating that HER3 could be a potential adaptive response mechanism to KRAS-targeted therapy. Further, we found that genetic knock-down of KRAS and HER3 resulted in a reduction in the growth of CRC cells compared to a single knockdown of either KRAS or HER3. We observed that kinase-impaired HER3 binding partners, as assessed by immunoprecipitation, is cell dependent with EGFR binding HER3 in one cell line. After co-treating CRC cells with pan-HER inhibitors in combination with MRTX1133, a KRASG12D inhibitor, synergistic and additive effects in the reduction in cell growth were observed. Finally, we found that co-targeting KRASG12D mutant cells with a KRASG12D inhibitor and a HER3 antibody-drug conjugate further reduced cell viability. We posit that co-targeting both KRASG12D and HER3, whether directly or indirectly, is a potential therapeutic strategy in CRC patients.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality. To investigate genetic determinants for prognosis among patients diagnosed with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we conducted the first large-scale genome-wide association prognostic study using data from the International Lung Cancer Consortium (ILCCO) through a two-phase analysis. Phase 1 includes the discovery of genome-wide association studies analysis using a multivariable Cox PH model on 3428 NSCLC patients of European ancestry from 10 ILCCO participating studies to identify genetic variants associated with overall survival and validation analysis for genome-wide significant variants (P-value ≤5 × 10-8) using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Phase 2 aims to identify causal variants using functional analyses of genome-wide significant and suggestive variants (P-value ≤1 × 10-5), including variant-epigenetic functional annotation (FAVOR), CHIP-seq data, variant-gene expression association, and colocalization analysis. We identified two significant variants; of those, a locus at 9q21.31 (rs117979484) was significant at the genome-wide level (P = 3.67 × 10-8) and validated in TCGA (P = 0.03). Three suggestive variants were found to have a putative epigenetic function: intronic variants rs149281784 (BCL7B gene) and rs148031766 (POM121 gene) both located at 7q11.23 and in moderate linkage disequilibrium with each other; and variant rs2471630 (SRCIN1 gene; 17q12). Specifically, variants rs149281784 and rs148031766 have potential regulatory roles in the transcriptional activation of the BCL7B gene and POM121 gene. Exploratory survival analyses in the squamous cell carcinomas subgroup also identified a significant variant, rs138467404 (GRHL-2 gene; 8q22.3) at a genome-wide level (P = 4.75 × 10-8) and validated by TCGA (P = 0.02). These new findings indicate potential novel pathways associated with early-stage NSCLC prognosis. Future research may validate additional genome-wide suggestive variants as being relevant for lung cancer outcomes.

Long-chain noncoding RNA (LncRNA) MEG3 significantly influences tumor microenvironment (TME) dynamics and macrophage polarization. However, its specific involvement in prostate cancer (PCa) progression remains unclear. MEG3 exhibited low expression in PCa, and immune infiltration analysis revealed a positive association with M1 macrophages infiltration and a negative association with M2 macrophages infiltration. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated increased MEG3 levels, corresponding with upregulated INOS (an M1 marker) and downregulated CD163 (an M2 marker). MEG3 expression was markedly elevated in LPS-induced M1 macrophages and notably reduced in IL-4-induced M2 macrophages. The overexpression of MEG3 significantly enhanced M1 macrophages polarization while suppressing M2 macrophages polarization. Using an online database and a dual luciferase reporter assay, miR-148a-3p was identified as a downstream target of MEG3. Reduced miR-148a-3p expression was observed in LPS-induced M1 macrophages, while an increase was noted in IL-4-induced M2 macrophages. Moreover, MEG3 overexpression's impact on macrophage polarization was nullified following miR-148a-3p mimic transfection. ARRDC3 was validated as a downstream target of miR-148a-3p. The upregulation of ARRDC3 triggered by MEG3 overexpression was effectively suppressed by miR-148a-3p mimics. Additionally, Knockdown of ARRDC3 effectively counteracted the MEG3 overexpression-induced increase in M1 macrophages polarization while simultaneously mitigating the reduction in M2 macrophages polarization. Collectively, MEG3 exhibits reduced expression in PCa and correlates with macrophage infiltration and polarization. Specifically, it drives M1 macrophages polarization while suppressing M2 macrophages polarization via the miR-148a-3p/ARRDC3 axis, thereby impeding tumor immune evasion and restricting PCa progression.

High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is strongly linked to the initiation and progression of cervical cancer (CC), yet the precise molecular mechanisms involved remain partially understood. This investigation examined differential protein expression profiles in various cohorts, including healthy controls and HPV-positive CC patients with different expression levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), shedding light on the dysregulation of oncogenic proteins by HPV. Proteomic analysis of cervical tissues revealed specific protein signatures, indicating significant upregulation of HPV E6, G6PD, STAT3, phosphorylated STAT3, and procollagen-lysine 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 2 (PLOD2) in HPV-infected CC tissues and cell lines. Functional experiments, involving the manipulation of G6PD and STAT3 activities in CC cells with HPV E6 modulation, demonstrated that dysregulated G6PD enhanced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion while suppressing apoptosis, primarily through the STAT3/PLOD2 pathway. Integrating these findings with the existing literature underscores the role of G6PD as an oncogene, potentially under STAT3 regulation, and highlights the role of PLOD2 as a pivotal factor in CC progression. This study also proposed a mechanism in which HPV E6-induced dysregulation of G6PD activates the STAT3-PLOD2 axis to promote CC progression. Understanding the intricate interplay between HPV E6, G6PD, STAT3, and PLOD2 offers valuable insights into the molecular landscape of CC. These findings may pave the way for targeted therapeutic approaches aimed at disrupting this axis to mitigate the progression of CC.

Previous research indicates that insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) protein levels in breast cancer tissue and blood are prognostic. However, genetic determinants of IGFBP7 in breast cancer remain largely unexplored. We examined IGFBP7 in a cohort of 1701 patients with first breast cancer from Sweden, enrolled prior to surgery 2002-16 and followed for up to 15 years. Genotyping was performed on blood samples using OncoArray. Tumor-specific protein levels of IGFBP7, insulin receptor (InsR), and IGF-I receptor (IGFIR) were assessed on tumor tissue microarrays in 964 patients. Furthermore, 275 patients had plasma IGFBP7 levels measured. A genetic proxy marker for circulating IGFBP7 levels was constructed from five candidate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs6852762, rs1714014, rs9992658, rs10004910, and rs4865180) based on number of recessive genotypes. Age-adjusted linear regression was used to evaluate SNPs and tumor-specific IGFBP7 levels in relation to circulating IGFBP7 levels. Cox regression adjusted for age, tumor characteristics, and adjuvant treatments was used to assess associations with clinical outcomes. Circulating and tumor-specific IGFBP7 levels were significantly positively correlated. High circulating and genetically predicted IGFBP7 levels were associated with increased risk for distant metastasis and all-cause mortality. A significant interaction between high tumor-specific IGFBP7 levels and membrane-bound InsR resulted in a four-fold increased risk of breast cancer events and distant metastases. Both measured and genetically predicted IGFBP7 levels were independent prognostic biomarkers in breast cancer.

Olfactomedin 4 (OLFM4) is a member of the olfactomedin domain-containing olfactomedin glycoprotein family and plays important roles in innate immunity, inflammation, and cancer. It exhibits increased expression in gastric cancer patient tissues and has been shown to regulate proliferation and apoptosis in gastric cancer cells. However, the molecular mechanism(s) underlying OLFM4's role in gastric cancer remain unknown. In this study, we found that OLFM4 knockdown significantly inhibited YCC3 gastric cancer cell proliferation and induced G2/M cell cycle arrest. Yeast two-hybridization screening revealed that OLFM4 directly interacts with cyclin B1 interacting protein 1 (CCNB1IP1), an E3 ubiquitin protein ligase. In YCC3 cells, OLFM4 co-immunoprecipitated and colocalized with CCNB1IP1 and underwent cell cycle phase-specific nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. OLFM4 knockdown decreased both cyclin B1 protein levels and CDK1 activity in YCC3 cells. Screening of a cohort of OLFM4-targeted microRNAs (miRNAs) for their impact on cell proliferation identified several that significantly downregulated OLFM4 protein levels and inhibited YCC3 cell proliferation in vitro. Rescue experiments demonstrated that these miRNAs' inhibitory effect on cell proliferation was partially related to their downregulation of OLFM4. When three of these miRNAs were individually administered intratumorally to nude mice bearing YCC3 cell xenografts, tumor growth was significantly inhibited when compared with tumors treated with a negative control miRNA. These results suggest that OLFM4 promotes cell cycle progression and cell proliferation in gastric cancer cells and may have utility as a therapeutic target in gastric adenocarcinoma.

Resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy agents like oxaliplatin (OXA) poses significant challenges in the treatment of cancers such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Centrin 2 (CETN2), which functions in nucleotide excision repair (NER) of DNA damage, is overexpressed in HCC. We investigated the potential role of CETN2 in modulating the sensitivity of HCC cells to OXA. CETN2 expression correlated with decreased OXA sensitivity in Huh7 and Hep3B HCC cell lines. CETN2 forms a complex with XPC, which is crucial for the initial DNA damage recognition in NER, thereby enhancing NER and reducing the efficacy of OXA. siRNA-mediated knockdown of CETN2 increased OXA-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis, confirming its role in chemoresistance. Moreover, overexpression of CETN2 inhibited OXA-induced DNA damage, an effect partially reversed by XPC knockdown. Our findings highlight CETN2 as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target in overcoming OXA resistance in HCC and suggest the possibility for CETN2 inhibitors in enhancing chemotherapeutic efficacy in the treatment of HCC.

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) ranks as the most common malignant tumor of the biliary tract, which has been characterized by late diagnosis, low excisional rate, and poor prognosis. Recent studies exploring the roles of malignant progression-associated genes in GBC remain limited. Our study aims to identify significant hub genes involved in its pathogenesis, which may serve as novel potential therapeutic targets for GBC. Here, we employed RNA-seq analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of seven GBC samples and five matched adjacent samples. After screening the DEGs in clinical sequencing data and GSE139682, we further obtained 549 genes with consistent expression trends in two datasets, including 155 upregulated and 394 downregulated genes. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that these genes were significantly enriched in extracellular matrix (ECM)-related processes, such as organization, structure, and composition, which hint to us that remodeling of ECM may be the main driving factor for the malignant progression of GBC. In addition, we screened 17 candidate hub genes through protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis and Cytoscape, subsequent GO and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses showed that the remodeled ECM mainly functions by affecting cell division. Moreover, we found that NEK2 and NUF2 were overexpressed in GBC tumor tissues and validated their function in the pro-proliferation of GBC cells. Our results highlight that NEK2 and NUF2 may be hub genes promoting the malignant progression of GBC and are expected to be reliable new therapeutic targets for GBC.

Globally, the incidence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has increased over recent decades and is projected to continue to rise, largely driven by increases in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), which is linked to HPV infection. HPV infection is also involved in the development of other cancers (anogenital and cervical), and almost 100% of cervical cancer patients are positive for HPV. OPSCC is the most common HPV-associated cancer in men and has exceeded the incidence of cervical cancer cases in women in the USA. Our knowledge of the carcinogenesis process from HPV infection to OPSCC development has been primarily extrapolated from cervical cancer models. While the cooperation of tobacco smoking and HPV infection is documented in cervical cancer, mechanistic studies to address this interaction in management and control of HNSCC are scarce and are also extrapolated from cervical cancer models. The molecular heterogeneity of HNSCC constitutes a tremendous challenge, and despite advances in several fronts in the management and control of HNSCC, short- and long-term treatment-associated morbidities remain substantial. In addition to deaths directly caused by this disease, survivors of this cancer have the second-highest rate of suicide compared with other cancers survivors. Given the existing gaps in our knowledge and the current clinical challenges, future studies including a number of new conceptual and methodological elements discussed in this review can lead to the discovery of biomarkers for early detection of the disease and novel strategies that will advance our knowledge to intercept and prevent HNSCC.

Cigarette smoking is one of the most important risk factors for lung cancer. Genetic studies have shown that smoking behavior-related genetic variants are directly associated with lung cancer, independent of smoking behavior, mainly in European populations. A recent genome-wide association study in Japan identified five loci associated with the number of cigarettes smoked per day. This study aimed to evaluate whether these loci are associated with lung cancer risk directly or indirectly through changing smoking behavior. Here, we conducted a case-control study (1427 cases and 5595 controls) and a prospective cohort study (128 incident cases in 10 520 subjects). Using mediation analysis, we decomposed the total effect of the lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at each locus on lung cancer risk into direct and indirect effects. The results of the two studies were pooled using a random-effects model to estimate summary relative risks (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Two studies showed that: (i) rs78277894 (EPHX2-CLU, G > A) had a protective direct effect (RR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.77-0.93) on lung cancer risk; and (ii) rs56129017 (CYP2A6, C > T) had carcinogenic direct and indirect effects on lung cancer risk (RR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.15-1.39 and RR: 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00-1.01, respectively). This mediation analysis revealed that two smoking behavior-related SNPs, EPHX2-CLU rs78277894 and CYP2A6 rs56129017, were associated with lung cancer risk through pathways independent of changing smoking behavior. Our findings may contribute to our understanding of lung carcinogenesis pathways that cannot be addressed by changes in smoking behavior.