Unleashing the potential of combining FGFR inhibitor and immune checkpoint blockade for FGF/FGFR signaling in tumor microenvironment.

BACKGROUND: Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs) play a crucial role in cell fate and angiogenesis, with dysregulation of the signaling axis driving tumorigenesis. Therefore, many studies have targeted FGF/FGFR signaling for cancer therapy and several FGFR inhibitors have promising results in different tumors but treatment efficiency may still be improved. The clinical use of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has resulted in sustained remission for patients. MAIN: Although there is limited data linking FGFR inhibitors and immunotherapy, preclinical research suggest that FGF/FGFR signaling is involved in regulating the tumor microenvironment (TME) including immune cells, vasculogenesis, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This raises the possibility that ICB in combination with FGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (FGFR-TKIs) may be feasible for treatment option for patients with dysregulated FGF/FGFR signaling. CONCLUSION: Here, we review the role of FGF/FGFR signaling in TME regulation and the potential mechanisms of FGFR-TKI in combination with ICB. In addition, we review clinical data surrounding ICB alone or in combination with FGFR-TKI for the treatment of FGFR-dysregulated tumors, highlighting that FGFR inhibitors may sensitize the response to ICB by impacting various stages of the "cancer-immune cycle".

Analyzing the differentially expressed genes and pathway cross-talk in aggressive breast cancer.

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore the genes and pathways involved in the aggressive breast cancer cells. METHODS: The gene expression profiles of GSE40057, including four aggressive breast cell lines and six less aggressive cell lines, were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The gene differential expression analysis was carried out with limma software with the method of Bayes for multiple tests. The gene ontology (GO) term enrichment and pathway cross-talk analysis were performed with the online tool of DAVID and Cytoscape software. RESULTS: A total of 401 differentially expressed genes (DEG), such as pentraxin 3 (PTX3), snail family zinc finger 2 (SNAI2), interleukin-8/6 (IL-8/6), osteonectin (SPARC), matrix metallopeptidase-1 (MMP-1) and Ras-related protein Rab-25 (Rab 25), were identified between aggressive and less aggressive cell lines. They were mainly enriched in the GO terms of response to wounding, negative regulation of cell proliferation and calcium binding. Pathways in cancer dysfunctionally interacted with glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism (P < 0.0001), basal transcription factors (P < 0.0001), tyrosine metabolism (P < 0.0001), calcium signaling pathway (P = 0.0021), FcγR-mediated phagocytosis (P = 0.0022), metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450 (P = 0.0097) and phagosome (P = 0.0102). CONCLUSION: The screened aggressive cancer-associated DEG (PTX3, SNAI2, IL-8/6, SPARC, MMP-1 and Rab25) and significant pathways (calcium signaling pathway, tyrosine metabolism, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism) give us new insights into the mechanism of aggressive breast cancer cells, and these DEG may become promising target genes in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

Serum-Derived Exosomes-Mediated Circular RNA ARHGAP10 Modulates the Progression of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Through the miR-638/FAM83F Axis.

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer deaths all over the world. Exosomes exert central roles in intercellular communication. Circular RNA Rho GTPase activating protein 10 (circARHGAP10) was related to the development of NSCLC. Nevertheless, it was unclear whether circARHGAP10 can be mediated by serum-derived exosomes in NSCLC. Materials and Methods: Protein expression of CD63, CD81, family with sequence similarity 83F (FAM83F), glucose transporter 1 (Glut1), and lactate dehydrogenase were evaluated through Western blot analysis. The expression of circARHGAP10, miR-638, and FAM83F was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were evaluated through 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) or transwell assays. Glucose consumption and lactate production were analyzed with special commercial kits. The relationship between circARHGAP10 or FAM83F and miR-638 was identified by dual-luciferase reporter or RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays. The role of circARHGAP10 in vivo was confirmed through xenograft assay. Results: circARHGAP10 was upregulated in NSCLC tissues, cells, and serum-derived exosomes. Serum-derived exosomes boosted the expression of circARHGAP10 in NSCLC cells. circARHGAP10 depletion repressed proliferation, migration, invasion, and glycolysis of NSCLC cells in vitro, and curbed tumor growth in vivo. Also, miR-638 acted as a target of circARHGAP10, miR-638 overexpression overturned circARHGAP10 upregulation-mediated acceleration of proliferation, migration, invasion, and glycolysis of NSCLC cells. Besides, miR-638 targeted FAM83F and FAM83F overexpression abolished miR-638 enhancement-mediated proliferation, migration, invasion, and glycolysis of NSCLC cells. Conclusions: Inhibition of serum-derived exosomes-mediated circARHGAP10 curbed NSCLC progression through the miR-638/FAM83F axis.

Identification of a novel lipid metabolism-related gene signature for predicting colorectal cancer survival.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor worldwide. Lipid metabolism is a prerequisite for the growth, proliferation and invasion of cancer cells. However, the lipid metabolism-related gene signature and its underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of this study was to establish a lipid metabolism signature risk model for survival prediction in CRC and to investigate the effect of gene signature on the immune microenvironment. Lipid metabolism-mediated genes (LMGs) were obtained from the Molecular Signatures Database. The consensus molecular subtypes were established using "ConsensusClusterPlus" based on LMGs and the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) data. The risk model was established using univariate and multivariate Cox regression with TCGA database and independently validated in the international cancer genome consortium (ICGC) datasets. Immune infiltration in the risk model was developed using CIBERSORT and xCell analyses. A total of 267 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between subtype 1 and subtype 2 from consensus molecular subtypes, including 153 upregulated DEGs and 114 downregulated DEGs. 21 DEGs associated with overall survival (OS) were selected using univariate Cox regression analysis. Furthermore, a prognostic risk model was constructed using the risk coefficients and gene expression of eleven-gene signature. Patients with a high-risk score had poorer OS compared with patients in the low-risk score group (p = 3.36e-07) in the TCGA cohort and the validationdatasets (p = 4.03e-05). Analysis of immune infiltration identified multiple T cells were associated with better prognosis in the low-risk group, including Th2 cells (p = 0.0208), regulatory T cells (p = 0.0425), and gammadelta T cells (p = 0.0112). A nomogram integrating the risk model and clinical characteristics was further developed to predict the prognosis of patients with CRC. In conclusion, our study revealed that the expression of lipid-metabolism genes were correlated with the immune microenvironment. The eleven-gene signature might be useful for prediction the prognosis of CRC patients.

Overexpression of miR-140 Inhibits Proliferation of Osteosarcoma Cells via Suppression of Histone Deacetylase 4.

miRNAs play a pivotal role in the development and progression of osteosarcoma (OS). Previous studies indicated that miR-140 acts as a tumor suppressor in many cancers. However, its accurate expression and exact function in OS cells remain unknown. Herein, we demonstrated the lower expression of miR-140 in 40 paired OS tissues. Restoring miR-140 expression in OS cells had a marked effect on inhibiting cell proliferation and invasion, inducing cell apoptosis in vitro, and suppressing tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, a bioinformatics prediction indicated that the histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) is a target gene of miR-140 and is involved in miR-140-mediated suppressive effects. In conclusion, our findings show that miR-140 acts as a tumor suppressor in OS by targeting HDAC4.

Clinical pathology of metastatic gastric carcinoma to the breast: A report of two cases and a review of literature.

The breast is an unusual site for metastasis from a gastric carcinoma. The present study reports two cases of metastatic gastric carcinoma to the breast. The first patient, a 37-year-old woman, initially presented with gastric adenocarcinoma, prior to developing metastatic cancer to the breast 4 years later. The second female patient presented with a breast mass, and a modified radical mastectomy was performed; however, the subsequent pathological examination revealed the mass to be a metastatic signet ring cell carcinoma. An abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a diffuse gastric wall thickening that was consistent with gastric cancer. The findings suggest that immunohistochemistry is a useful tool to differentiate between primary breast tumors and gastrointestinal carcinomas that have metastasized to the breast. Additional studies are required in order to define the optimal treatment.

DAL-1/4.1B contributes to epithelial-mesenchymal transition via regulation of transforming growth factor-ß in lung cancer cell lines.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of the tumor suppressor gene differentially expressed in adenocarcinoma of the lung 1 (DAL­1)/4.1B on early­stage adenocarcinoma of the lung. The role of DAL­1/4.1B in the epithelial­mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is implicated in cancer metastasis, was examined using DAL­1 knockdown and overexpression, followed by polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis of EMT markers, as well as cell counting and cell migration/invasion assays. The results showed that DAL­1/4.1B has a role in transforming growth factor (TGF)­ß­induced EMT in non­small cell lung cancer cells. Silencing of DAL­1/4.1B with inhibitory RNAs altered the expression of numerous EMT markers, including E­cadherin and ß­catenin, whereas overexpression of DAL­1/4.1B had the opposite effect. In addition, DAL­1/4.1B expression was induced following TGF­ß treatment at the protein and mRNA level. DAL­1/4.1B deficiency impaired TGF­ß­induced EMT and increased cell migration and invasion. These results suggested that DAL­1/4.1B contributed to the EMT and may be important for tumor metastasis in lung cancer. Together with the results of a previous study by our group, the present study suggested that DAL­1/4.1B acts as a tumor suppressor in the early transformation process in lung cancer, while in later stages, it functions as an oncogene affecting the biological features of human lung carcinoma cells. The results of the present study provided evidence for the feasibility of utilizing DAL­1/4.1B as a target for lung cancer gene therapy.

Prediction and identification of B cell epitopes derived from EWS/FLI-l fusion protein of Ewing's sarcoma.

To predict B cell epitope of Ewing's sarcoma EWS/FLI-l fusion protein and to analyze its antigenicity and immunogenicity. Comprehensive algorithms were applied to predict the possible B cell epitopes of EWS/FLI-l fusion protein. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS) analysis were performed to identify the synthesized epitope peptides, ELISA assays and Western blot to detect the antigenicity, and the immunogenicity of epitope peptides. Three B cell epitopes were screened out, and HPLC and MS analysis confirmed all three synthesized epitope peptides were demandable. ELISA assays verified all three epitope peptides could prime intense antigen-antibody reaction and induce ideal antibody titers after immunization to the New Zealand white rabbit. However, Western blot confirmed that antiserum of one of these epitope peptides could not recognize EWS/FLI-1 protein. Two B cell epitopes, PQDGNKPTETSQPQ and DPDEVARRWGQRKS, derived from EWS/FLI-l protein, are identified to have potential antigenicity and immunogenicity.