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@#Epigenetic modification plays an important role in the biological regulatory process of eukaryotic cells. Tumor immunotherapy is an important means and clinical strategy for the treatment of some cancers. 5-Methylcytosine (m5C) is an important component of the epigenetic regulatory network discovered after m6A and has become a new topic for life science research in recent years. The m5C methylation of RNA can affect the fate of the modified RNA molecules and play an important role in various biological processes, including RNA stability, protein synthesis and transcriptional regulation. Recent studies have shown that m5C writers, erasers and readers are related to a variety of cellular biological processes and systemic diseases, including the occurrence, metastasis and tumor immune microenvironment. m5C methylation can widely affect gene expression and the biological process of tumorigenesis and development at multiple levels, but its specific mechanism and potential interaction with other epigenetic modifications in tumor immunotherapy are still unclear, and its regulatory mechanism, risk assessment and role in targeted therapy for malignant tumors need to be further studied. This article will review the dynamic regulatory network of m5C, the biological role of m5C modification in solid tumors and potential targets in tumor immunotherapy.
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As resident immune cells of the retina, retinal microglia constantly monitor the changes of their surroundings and maintain homeostasis through signal transduction with other retinal cells. Retinal microglia play a crucial role not only in the development and physiological processes of the retinal vascular system, but also in pathological neovascularization. In certain retinopathies, activated microglia can stimulate abnormal angiogenesis through neurovascular coupling, leading to irreversible damage. However, the exact mechanisms underlying this process are still unclear. In this review, a brief overview of the relationship between microglia and retinal neovascularization was provided, and the involved cellular and molecular signaling mechanisms were reviewed, aiming to offer new and effective strategies for the prevention and treatment of retinal neovascularization diseases.
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Background: The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic tissue that provides nutrition and support to overlying epithelium. During tumorigenesis, the tumor microenvironment (TME) dysregulates the ECM. This is reflected by morphological changes seen in collagen and elastic fibers and is thought to facilitate metastasis. Aim: To study the degradation of elastic fibers in different grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and in oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) using histochemistry and to correlate it to the TNM stage of OSCC. Materials and Methods: Tumor cores from 38 cases of OSCC (well-differentiated[15], moderately differentiated[14], and poorly differentiated[9]) and 15 incisional biopsies of OED were analyzed. Hematoxylin-eosin and Verhoeff's–Van Gieson (VVG) stains were used. The stained sections were assessed for morphological changes in elastic fibers. Statistical Analysis: Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 software. Fisher's exact, Kruskal–Wallis, one-way ANOVA, and Turkey post hoc tests were used to establish significance (P ? 0.05). Spearman's correlation test was used to correlate elastin fiber degradation with TNM stage of OSCC. Results: All grades of OSCC showed absence of elastic fibers around the tumor islands. Elastic fiber degradation (fragmented and clumped type fibers) increased proportionately with the grade and TNM stage of OSCC. In OED, A significant reduction in the amount of elastic fibers with increasing grade was noted. Conclusion: A positive correlation was noted between elastin degradation and grade and stage of OSCC. Therefore, it may be implicated in tumor progression of OSCC.
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Pancreatic cancer is one of the most common tumors in digestive system, which is characterized by insidious clinical symptoms, strong invasion, easy metastasis and high mortality. In recent years, immunotherapy is a new direction to the treatment of solid tumors, but its applica-tion in pancreatic cancer is limited by tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer. The authors systematically analyze the tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer, summarize the clinical researches related to pancreatic cancer immunotherapy, and discuss the prospect of pancreatic cancer immunotherapy.
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Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy, an emerging immunotherapy, has achieved remarkable results in the treatment of hematologic tumors. However, it's limited in the treatment of solid tumors such as esophageal squamous cell carcinoma due to various factors. Clarifying the reasons for the limitation of CAR-T therapy and exploring the corresponding solutions can provide new ideas and insights for the treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
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Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) is considered as a key factor for the severely limited efficacy in tumor radiotherapy. CAFs, as the primary stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment, can lead to tumor radiotherapy resistance by secreting a series of pro-tumor cytokines and nutrients, inhibiting anti-tumor immune response and remodeling extracellular matrix. Some progress has been made in the study of targeted CAFs sensitization radiotherapy, but the relevant study system is still imperfect. Therefore, a systematic exploration of the role of CAFs in tumor radiotherapy resistance and CAFs targeted therapy strategies can provide a basis for improving the current status of tumor radiotherapy resistance.
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In recent years, immunotherapy, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors, has shown obvious advantages in prolonging the survival of patients with advanced tumors, and the tumor microenvironment is one of the important factors affecting the efficacy of immunity. Patients with microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer exhibit immune responses in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. In-depth exploration of the tumor microenvironment characteristics of microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer and the application of combined immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy can provide new ideas and directions for colorectal cancer immunotherapy.
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Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) is important channel for tumor immune cell infiltration. The existence of tumor TLSs is not only related to the prognosis of patients, but also to the efficacy of a variety of anti-tumor therapies. To explore the function and immunomodulatory mechanism of TLSs and its potential value as a tumor prognostic biomarker in comprehensive anti-tumor therapy will provide new ideas for follow-up research.
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Lymphocyte subsets and tumor-associated macrophages, which are the primary immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, interacts with its released cytokines to form the immunological microenvironment. It has grown to be a significant factor in the recurrence and metastasis of cervical cancer and influences the effectiveness of concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy for the disease, which in turn influences the prognosis and outcome of patients. Immunotherapy and targeted therapy for cervical cancer based on the immune microenvironment have grown in popularity as research topics in recent years.
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As an effective treatment for cancer, chemotherapy not only removes tumor cells, but also produces obvious killing effects on proliferating cells, especially hematopoietic cells, resulting in bone marrow suppression after chemotherapy, and affecting the effects of chemotherapy drug treatment and treatment cycle. Therefore, starting from the aspects of hematopoietic microenvironment damage and hematopoietic stem cell aging, to explore the mechanism of myelosuppression after chemotherapy, which provides new ideas and theoretical support for the intervention and management of bone marrow suppression after cancer chemotherapy.
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Chronic refractory wounds have been a challenge for clinical treatment because of their diverse causative factors and complex pathological processes, long healing times, and high treatment costs. The microenvironment of the wound surface includes the external microenvironment of the periwound surface, the internal microenvironment of the wound surface, and subsurface physiological structures. Research on clinical treatment strategies based on the microenvironment of chronic refractory wounds continues to innovate and make progress. Hydrogels have the advantages of high-water content, adjustable performance, good biocompatibility, and similarity to extracellular matrix. The ability of hydrogels to load drugs and their modification to confer excellent tissue adhesion, antibacterial, antioxidant, and modulation of inflammatory factor expression can be used to achieve a multi-factor response and modulation of the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the trauma microenvironment. Therefore, hydrogels have outstanding advantages and clinical application prospects in the repair of chronic, difficult-to-heal wounds. In this review paper, the characteristics and etiology of chronic refractory wounds were introduced, and the classification of microenvironment-responsive hydrogels for chronic refractory wounds and their application in the repair of refractory wounds were reviewed. Besides, the shortcomings of current hydrogels were discussed, and an outlook was proposed.
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The occurrence and development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are related to many factors such as CLL cells, defective T cells and tumor microenvironment. The mutual interaction between tumor cells and immune cells in tumor microenvironment is an important factor for the progress of CLL. T cells, as the main members of adaptive immunity, play an ambiguous role in CLL. This review focuses on the immunodeficiency of T-cell subsets in CLL and recent advances in T-cell immunotherapy, in order to explore the potential role of T cells in the occurrence, development and outcome of CLL.
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Single-cell sequencing (SCS) sequences the genetic information of a single cell to better understand the differences amongst cells and reveal the unique changes of each cell type. The specific analysis of cell subsets at the single-cell level can accurately evaluate tumor cells and microenvironment cells to reveal the complexity of molecular components and the difference from the corresponding components in non-malignant tissues. Lymphoma is highly heterogeneous, some have unknown pathological types, etiology and poor prognosis. SCS is helpful to clarify the molecular mechanisms of lymphomagenesis and pathological staging, and guide clinical practice. This article reviews SCS and its application in lymphoma.
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ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of different oxygen concentration on the proliferation and autophagy of colon cancer cells and to explore the effect of Yangyin Huayu Jiedu Preseription （YHJP） on autophagy and apoptosis of colon cancer cells under hypoxia based on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway. MethodHCT-116 cells were divided into normoxia group， 1% O2 group， and 5% O2 group. Cell viability was detected by cell proliferation assay （MTS）， and autophagy was observed based on monodansylcadaverine （MDC） staining. HCT-116 cells were treated with YHJP in 5% O2 microenvironment. The cells were divided into normal group， blank serum group， and low-， medium-， high-dose YHJP groups （5%， 15%， 25% serum containing YHJP）. Cell inhibition rate in each group was calculated by MTS， and changes in the rate of autophagy were detected based on MDC staining. Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate （FITC）/propidium iodide （PI） was employed to detect the apoptosis rate of each group. Western blotting was applied to measure the expression of autophagy proteins microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 （LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ）， yeast Atg6 homolog （Beclin-1）， ubiquitin-binding scaffold protein p62 （p62）， apoptosis-related proteins B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B interacting protein 3 （BNIP-3）， and Bcl-2 associated X protein （Bax）， cleaved cysteine-aspartic acid protease-3 （Caspase-3）， hypoxia-inducible factor-1α （HIF-1α） and pathway proteins PI3K， phosphorylated （p）-PI3K， Akt， and p-Akt. ResultCell survival rates of the 1% O2 and 5% O2 groups were increased compared with that in the normoxia group， particularly the 5% O2 group （P<0.01）. The fluorescence intensity for autophagy in 1% O2 and 5% O2 groups was significantly increased compared with that in the normoxia group， especially the 5% O2 group. In the presence of 5% O2， compared with the blank serum group， medium-dose and high-dose YHJP groups showed high cell inhibition rate， low autophagy rate， high apoptosis rate （P<0.01）， and low expression of Beclin-1 protein （P<0.05）. Compared with low-dose YHJP group， high-dose YHJP group demonstrated low expression of Beclin-1 protein （P<0.05）. Compared with the blank serum group， the three YHJP groups had low expression of LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ protein （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the blank serum group， medium-dose and high-dose YHJP groups showed high expression of p62 protein （P<0.01）. Compared with low-dose YHJP group， high-dose YHJP group showed high expression of p62 protein （P<0.05）. Compared with the blank serum group， high-dose YHJP increased the expression of BNIP-3 and Bax and decreased the expression of Bcl-2 （P<0.01）. The expression of Bax protein in the high-dose YHJP group was increased compared with that in the low-dose YHJP group （P<0.05）. The expression of HIF-1α in the medium-dose and high-dose YHJP groups was decreased （P<0.01） and the expression of p-PI3K/PI3K and p-Akt/Akt in the high-dose YHJP group was increased （P<0.05， P<0.01） compared with that in the blank serum group. The expression of p-Akt/Akt was higher in the high-dose YHJP group than in the medium-dose YHJP （P<0.05）. ConclusionHypoxic microenvironment can significantly promote autophagy and proliferation of colon cancer cells. YHJP can significantly inhibit autophagy and proliferation and promote apoptosis of colon cancer cells in 5% O2 environment by up-regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
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The mechanical microenvironment of cells plays a critical role in regulating the physiological function of cells. Cells in vivo are often subjected to a variety of mechanical forces from their mechanical micro-environment, such as shear, tension, and compression. At the same time, cells can adhere to the extracellular matrix (ECM) through adhesion molecules (such as integrin-ligand binding), and further sense the stiffness of the ECM. Cell mechanics mainly studies the properties and behavior of living cells under mechanical forces, and how they relate to cell functions. This review summarized the advances in cell mechanics in 2022, focusing on integrin-ligand interactions and the effects of matrix stiffness and mechanical forces on cell physiological behavior and morphogenesis.
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AIM: To analyze the effects of aromatase inhibitors(AIs)on the ocular surface microenvironment of the users.METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted. The study included postmenopausal women who received AIs treatment at galactophore department of our hospital from November 2022 to May 2023. Participants were divided into two groups based on the mechanism of AIs: the steroidal group and the non-steroidal group. The control group consisted of age-matched women who underwent occupational health examinations. All participants completed the ocular surface disease index(OSDI)questionnaire and underwent detailed ophthalmic examinations, including best-corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, axial length, corneal curvature, radius of curvature of curved lacrimal river surface, tear osmolarity, tear film break-up time, corneal fluorescein staining score, Schirmer Ⅰ test, and meibomian gland infrared score.RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in age, best-corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, axial length, and corneal curvature between control group and steroidal and non-steroidal group(P>0.05). The duration of drug treatment between the steroidal group and the non-steroidal group also showed no statistically significant difference(P>0.05). However, statistically significant differences were observed between the control group and the steroidal and non-steroidal group in OSDI scores, radius of curvature of curved lacrimal river surface, tear osmolarity, tear film break-up time, corneal fluorescein staining score, Schirmer Ⅰ test, and meibomian gland infrared score(P<0.05). The Schirmer Ⅰ test also showed statistically significant differences between the steroidal group and the non-steroidal group(P<0.05), while other data showed no statistically significant differences(P>0.05).CONCLUSION: Postmenopausal patients receiving AIs treatment experienced significant changes in the ocular microenvironment, with both decreased tear secretion and excessive tear evaporation contributing to the occurrence of dry eye. Notably, patients receiving non-steroidal AIs treatment showed a more significant reduction in main lacrimal gland secretion.
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The cornea is a transparent outer layer of the anterior eye segment, innervated by a high density of neural tissue. In the process of corneal innervation, trigeminal ganglion originated corneal nerves traverse different types of corneal cell in the epithelial and stromal layers. Corneal stromal cells, epithelial cells, immune cells, and other cells interact closely to maintain corneal microenvironmental homeostasis. In addition, corneal nerves is associated with the occurrence and development of many ocular surface diseases. Corneal nerves release various active peptides that regulate corneal sensation, maintain epithelial integrity and proliferation, improve wound healing, and manage local inflammation and immune response. This article reviews the advances in the corneal nerve regulation of the ocular surface microenvironment, providing some new ideas for the further study and treatment of corneal nerve-associated diseases.
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OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the mechanism by which conditioned medium of colorectal cancer cells promotes the formation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs).@*METHODS@#Normal human colorectal fibroblasts (CCD-18Co cells) in logarithmic growth phase were treated with the conditioned media of colorectal cancer HCT116 cells (HCT116-CM) or Caco-2 cells (Caco-2-CM) alone or in combination with 300 nmol/L ERK inhibitor SCH772984. The expression levels of CAFs-related molecular markers were detected in the treated cells with real-time quantitative PCR (RT- qPCR) and immunofluorescence assay, and the changes in cell proliferation, colony formation and migration were assessed with RTCA, colony formation and wound healing assays; Western blotting was performed to detect the activated signaling pathways in the fibroblasts and the changes in CAFs formation after blocking of the signaling pathway.@*RESULTS@#HCT116-CM and Caco-2-CM significantly upregulated mRNA expression levels of CAFs markers (including α-SMA, FAP, FN and TGF-β) in CCD-18Co cells, and strongly promoted fibroblast transformation into CAFs (P < 0.05). The two conditioned media also promoted the proliferation, colony formation and migration of CCD-18Co cells (P < 0.05) and significantly increased the levels of α-SMA protein and ERK phosphorylation in the cells (P < 0.05). The ERK inhibitor SCH772984 obviously inhibited the expression of α-SMA and the transformation of CCD-18Co cells into CAFs induced by the conditioned medium of colorectal cancer cells (P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Colorectal cancer cells may induce the formation of colorectal CAFs by activating the ERK pathway in the fibroblasts.
Subject(s)
Humans , Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts/metabolism , Culture Media, Conditioned/pharmacology , MAP Kinase Signaling System , Caco-2 Cells , Fibroblasts , Signal Transduction , Cell Proliferation , Cell Line, Tumor , Colorectal Neoplasms/genetics , Cell MovementABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the prognosis and immunotherapy response of patients with bladder cancer by constructing a risk-score model of cellular senescence-related signature (SRS), as well as to explore the clinical application value of SRS in bladder cancer. Methods Senescence genes were screened from TCGA-BLCA, and cellular SRS genes were screened according to LASSO regression. A bladder cancer risk-score model was constructed based on the SRS genes to analyze the survival difference and model-fit degree of TCGA-BLCA high- and low-risk groups. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression was used to analyze the prognostic risk factors of bladder cancer. Overall survival differences of high- and low-risk groups in GEO-BLCA database were verified, and variations in immunotherapy responses were analyzed in IMvigor210 databases. According to the result of β-gal chromogenic reaction in bladder cancer and normal paracancer tissues, the existence of cell senescence was determined. Results Eight marker genes were screened, and patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups according to the median risk score constructed by the marker genes. The 5-year survival rate of high risk group was lower than that of low risk group (training and validation sets P < 0.05). The area under the ROC curve of TCGA-BLCA in 1-, 3-, and 5-year were 0.657, 0.660, and 0.688, and those for GSE13507 were 0.665, 0.665, and 0.613, respectively. SRS risk score can be used as an independent risk factor for the prognosis of patients with bladder cancer. The SRS risk score in the response group was lower than that in the non-response group during bladder cancer immunotherapy (P < 0.05). The β-gal staining of bladder cancer tissue was positive, but the β-gal staining of adjacent normal tissue was negative. Conclusion Cell senescence occurs in bladder cancer tissues. SRS risk score can predict the clinical prognosis of patients with bladder cancer, and patients with low score can benefit from immunotherapy. SRS is a reliable biomarker for the prognosis and immunotherapy response of bladder cancer.
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Objective To investigate the impact of PD1-TCF1+CD8+ stem-like memory T cells on immunotherapy prognosis and tertiary lymphoid structure in tumors. Methods Pathological tissue sections were collected from 33 patients treated with immunotherapy, 18 cases of NSCLC and 15 cases of ESCC. The expression of PD1-TCF1+CD8+T cells was detected through quantitative analysis by multiplex immunofluorescence. Survival curves were described by the Kaplan-Meier method. Pearson's correlation test was used for correlation analysis. Results The high levels of PD1-TCF1+CD8+T cells had a better PFS in NSCLC and ESCC cohorts. In the NSCLC cohort, high levels of PD1-TCF1+CD8+ T cells were significantly and positively correlated with the number (P=0.0151) and size (P=0.0007) of TLSs. Conclusion In patients with NSCLC and ESCCs, high PD1-TCF1+CD8+ stem-like memory T cell expression indicates improved prognosis and immune response and is associated with the formation of TLSs in the tumor microenvironment of NSCLC.