Extracellular Vesicles Obtained From Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells Cultured Under Intermittent Hypoxia Induce M2 Macrophage Polarization via miR-20a-5p Delivery.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that EVs obtained from lung adenocarcinoma cells cultured under IH deliver miR-20a-5p to promote M2 macrophage polarization by targeting PTEN.

Identification of APC Mutation as a Potential Predictor for Immunotherapy in Colorectal Cancer.

To date, anticancer immunotherapy has presented some clinical benefits to most of advanced mismatch repair deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. In addition to MSI status, we aimed to reveal the potential predictive value of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene mutations in CRC patients. A total of 238 Chinese CRC patients was retrospectively identified and analyzed for clinical features and gene alternations in APC-mutant type (MT) and APC-wild-type (WT) groups. Clinical responses were then evaluated from the public TCGA database and MSKCC immunotherapy database. Although programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) level, MSI status, loss of heterogeneity at the human leukocyte antigen (HLA LOH), and tumor neoantigen burden (TNB) level were not statistically different between the APC-MT group and APC-WT group, tumor mutation burden (TMB) level was significantly higher in APC-MT patients (P < 0.05). Furthermore, comutation analysis for APC mutations revealed co-occurring genomic alterations of PCDHB7 and exclusive mutations of CTNNB1, BRAF, AFF3, and SNX25 (P < 0.05). Besides, overall survival from MSKCC-CRC cohort was longer in the APC-WT group than in the APC-MT group (HR 2.26 (95% CI 1.05-4.88), P < 0.05). Furthermore, most of patients in the APC-WT group were detected as high-grade immune subtypes (C2-C4) comparing with those in the APC-MT group. In addition, the percentages of NK T cells, Treg cells, and fibroblasts cells were higher in APC-WT patients than in APC-MT patients (P < 0.05). In summary, APC mutations might be associated with poor outcomes for immunotherapy in CRC patients regardless of MSI status. This study suggested APC gene mutations might be a potential predictor for immunotherapy in CRC.

Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 degradation induced by NEDD4 promotes acquired erlotinib resistance in non-small-cell lung cancer.

Acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as gefitinib and erlotinib, is a critical issue in the treatment of patients with epidermal growth factor receptor mutant-positive non-small-cell lung cancer. Recent evidence suggests that downregulation of gene of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 plays an important role in acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors in various types of cancers, including lung cancer. It was reported that the E3 ubiquitin ligase neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated gene (NEDD4) (also known as NEDD4-1) negatively regulated phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 protein levels through poly-ubiquitination and proteolysis in carcinomas of the prostate, lung, and bladder. Whether this process plays a role in epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors resistance in non-small-cell lung cancer has not been studied extensively. In view of this, we investigated the involvement of NEDD4 and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 in acquired erlotinib resistance with tyrosine kinase inhibitor-sensitive (HCC827) or tyrosine kinase inhibitor-resistant (Erlotinib-resistant HCC827/ER cells which harbored exon 19 deletion. Overexpression of NEDD4 in HCC827/ER cells was detected, and the reverse correlation between NEDD4 and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 expression in these cells was also revealed. In HCC827/ER cells with knockdown of NEDD4, phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 and p-Akt expressions were decreased; the sensitivity of HCC827/ER cells to erlotinib was partially restored. Similar results were also observed in vivo. In H1650/ER cells harboring both exon 19 and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 deletion, expression of p-Akt and sensitivity to erlotinib were not affected by simple knockdown of NEDD4 but affected after transfection of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 into H1650/ER cells. Our results demonstrate that NEDD4 may promote the acquired resistance of non-small-cell lung cancer cells to erlotinib by decreasing phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 protein expression. Targeted decrease in NEDD4 expression may be a potential therapeutic strategy for tyrosine kinase inhibitor-resistant non-small-cell lung cancer.