Streptococcus anginosus promotes gastric inflammation, atrophy, and tumorigenesis in mice.

Streptococcus anginosus (S. anginosus) was enriched in the gastric mucosa of patients with gastric cancer (GC). Here, we show that S. anginosus colonized the mouse stomach and induced acute gastritis. S. anginosus infection spontaneously induced progressive chronic gastritis, parietal cell atrophy, mucinous metaplasia, and dysplasia in conventional mice, and the findings were confirmed in germ-free mice. In addition, S. anginosus accelerated GC progression in carcinogen-induced gastric tumorigenesis and YTN16 GC cell allografts. Consistently, S. anginosus disrupted gastric barrier function, promoted cell proliferation, and inhibited apoptosis. Mechanistically, we identified an S. anginosus surface protein, TMPC, that interacts with Annexin A2 (ANXA2) receptor on gastric epithelial cells. Interaction of TMPC with ANXA2 mediated attachment and colonization of S. anginosus and induced mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. ANXA2 knockout abrogated the induction of MAPK by S. anginosus. Thus, this study reveals S. anginosus as a pathogen that promotes gastric tumorigenesis via direct interactions with gastric epithelial cells in the TMPC-ANXA2-MAPK axis.

Targeting of SLC25A22 boosts the immunotherapeutic response in KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer.

KRAS is an important tumor intrinsic factor driving immune suppression in colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we demonstrate that SLC25A22 underlies mutant KRAS-induced immune suppression in CRC. In immunocompetent male mice and humanized male mice models, SLC25A22 knockout inhibits KRAS-mutant CRC tumor growth with reduced myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) but increased CD8+ T-cells, implying the reversion of mutant KRAS-driven immunosuppression. Mechanistically, we find that SLC25A22 plays a central role in promoting asparagine, which binds and activates SRC phosphorylation. Asparagine-mediated SRC promotes ERK/ETS2 signaling, which drives CXCL1 transcription. Secreted CXCL1 functions as a chemoattractant for MDSC via CXCR2, leading to an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Targeting SLC25A22 or asparagine impairs KRAS-induced MDSC infiltration in CRC. Finally, we demonstrate that the targeting of SLC25A22 in combination with anti-PD1 therapy synergizes to inhibit MDSC and activate CD8+ T cells to suppress KRAS-mutant CRC growth in vivo. We thus identify a metabolic pathway that drives immunosuppression in KRAS-mutant CRC.

[MiR-433 reverses chemoresistance to docetaxel by targeting Notch1 in breast cancer cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of miR- 433 in chemoresistance to docetaxel in breast cancer cells. METHODS: A docetaxel-resistant MCF-7 breast cancer cell line (MCF-7/DOX) was established by exposure of parental MCF-7 cells to progressively increased docetaxel concentrations. The functional role of miR-433 was investigated by assessing the changes in viability and apoptosis of the cells transfected with a miR-433 inhibitor or a miR-433 mimics. The downstream targets of miR- 433 were determined by bioinformatics analysis, cell transfection and luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that miR- 433 was down-regulated in MCF-7/DOX cells. Transfection of the cells with the miR-433 inhibitor obviously enhanced chemoresistance to docetaxel and attenuated cell apoptosis in MCF-7 cells; miR-433 overexpression significantly increased the sensitivity to docetaxel and promoted apoptosis in MCF- 7/DOX cells. Luciferase reporter assay showed that the down-regulation miR-433 expression was associated with significantly increased expressions of Notch1 at both mRNA and protein levels in MCF-7 cells. Compared with the control cells, McF-7/DOX cells transfected with miR-433 mimics exhibited significantly decreased mRNA and protein expressions of Notch1. CONCLUSIONS: miR-433 may reverse chemoresistance to docetaxel by targeting Notch1 in breast cancer cells.