NRF2 signaling pathway: A comprehensive prognostic and gene expression profile analysis in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignant tumor in women and a major public health concern. NRF2 axis is a cellular protector signaling pathway protecting both normal and cancer cells from oxidative damage. NRF2 is a transcription factor that binds to the gene promoters containing antioxidant response element-like sequences. In this report, differential expression of NRF2 signaling pathway elements, as well as the correlation of NRF2 pathway mRNAs with various clinicopathologic characteristics, including molecular subtypes, tumor grade, tumor stage, and methylation status, has been investigated in breast cancer using METABRIC and TCGA datasets. In the current report, our findings revealed the deregulation of several NRF2 signaling elements in breast cancer patients. Moreover, there were negative correlations between the methylation of NRF2 genes and mRNA expression. The expression of NRF2 genes significantly varied between different breast cancer subtypes. In conclusion, substantial deregulation of NRF2 signaling components suggests an important role of these genes in breast cancer. Because of the clear associations between mRNA expression and methylation status, DNA methylation could be one of the mechanisms that regulate the NRF2 pathway in breast cancer. Differential expression of Hippo genes among various breast cancer molecular subtypes suggests that NRF2 signaling may function differently in different subtypes of breast cancer. Our data also highlights an interesting link between NRF2 components' transcription and tumor grade/stage in breast cancer.

Corrigendum: The effects of COVID-19 on the placenta during pregnancy.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.743022.].

Understanding the tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) represents a heterogeneous group of tumors. While significant progress has been made using multimodal treatment, the 5-year survival remains at 50%. Developing effective therapies, such as immunotherapy, will likely lead to better treatment of primary and metastatic disease. However, not all HNSCC tumors respond to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Understanding the complex cellular composition and interactions of the tumor microenvironment is likely to lead to new knowledge for effective therapies and treatment resistance. In this review, we discuss HNSCC characteristics, predictive biomarkers, factors influencing immunotherapy response, with a focus on the tumor microenvironment.

The Effects of COVID-19 on the Placenta During Pregnancy.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a global pandemic. The virus primarily affects the lungs where it induces respiratory distress syndrome ranging from mild to acute, however, there is a growing body of evidence supporting its negative effects on other system organs that also carry the ACE2 receptor, such as the placenta. The majority of newborns delivered from SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers test negative following delivery, suggesting that there are protective mechanisms within the placenta. There appears to be a higher incidence of pregnancy-related complications in SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers, such as miscarriage, restricted fetal growth, or still-birth. In this review, we discuss the pathobiology of COVID-19 maternal infection and the potential adverse effects associated with viral infection, and the possibility of transplacental transmission.

The Pandora's box of novel technologies that may revolutionize lung cancer.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common cancers globally and has a 5-year survival rate ~20%. Immunotherapies have demonstrated long-term and durable responses in NSCLC patients, although they appear to be effective in only a subset of patients. A more comprehensive understanding of the underlying tumour biology may contribute to identifying those patients likely to achieve optimal outcomes. Profiling the tumour microenvironment (TME) has shown to be beneficial in addressing fundamental tumour-immune cell interactions. Advances in multiplexing immunohistochemistry and molecular barcoding has led to recent advances in profiling genes and proteins in NSCLC. Here, we review the recent advancements in spatial profiling technologies for the analysis of NSCLC tissue samples to gain new insights and therapeutic options for NSCLC. The combination of spatial transcriptomics combined with advanced imaging is likely to lead to deep insights into NSCLC tissue biology, which can be a powerful tool to predict likelihood of response to therapy.