Development of a radiomics model to diagnose pheochromocytoma preoperatively: a multicenter study with prospective validation.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative diagnosis of pheochromocytoma (PHEO) accurately impacts preoperative preparation and surgical outcome in PHEO patients. Highly reliable model to diagnose PHEO is lacking. We aimed to develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiomic-clinical model to distinguish PHEO from adrenal lesions. METHODS: In total, 305 patients with 309 adrenal lesions were included and divided into different sets. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model was used for data dimension reduction, feature selection, and radiomics signature building. In addition, a nomogram incorporating the obtained radiomics signature and selected clinical predictors was developed by using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The performance of the radiomic-clinical model was assessed with respect to its discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness. RESULTS: Seven radiomics features were selected among the 1301 features obtained as they could differentiate PHEOs from other adrenal lesions in the training (area under the curve [AUC], 0.887), internal validation (AUC, 0.880), and external validation cohorts (AUC, 0.807). Predictors contained in the individualized prediction nomogram included the radiomics signature and symptom number (symptoms include headache, palpitation, and diaphoresis). The training set yielded an AUC of 0.893 for the nomogram, which was confirmed in the internal and external validation sets with AUCs of 0.906 and 0.844, respectively. Decision curve analyses indicated the nomogram was clinically useful. In addition, 25 patients with 25 lesions were recruited for prospective validation, which yielded an AUC of 0.917 for the nomogram. CONCLUSION: We propose a radiomic-based nomogram incorporating clinically useful signatures as an easy-to-use, predictive and individualized tool for PHEO diagnosis.

Glycoprotein α-Subunit of Glucosidase II (GIIα) is a novel prognostic biomarker correlated with unfavorable outcome of urothelial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is among the most prevalent malignancies. The muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) shows an invasive feature and has poor prognosis, while the non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) shows a better prognosis as compared with the MIBC. However, a significant proportion (10%-30%) of NMIBC cases progress to MIBC. Identification of efficient biomarkers for the prediction of the course of UC remains challenging nowadays. Recently, there is an emerging study showed that post-translational modifications (PTMs) by glycosylation is an important process correlated with tumor angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis. Herein, we reported a data-driven discovery and experimental validation of GANAB, a key regulator of glycosylation, as a novel prognostic marker in UC. METHODS: In the present study, we conducted immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay to evaluate the correlation between the expression levels of GANAB protein and the prognosis of UC in our cohort of 107 samples using whole slide image (WSI) analysis. In vitro experiments using RNAi were also conducted to investigate the biological functions of GANAB in UC cell lines. RESULTS: We observed that positive GANAB protein expression was significantly correlated with poor prognosis of UC in our cohort, with p-value of 0.0017 in Log-rank test. Notably, tumor cells at the invasive front of the tumor margin showed stronger GANAB expression than the tumor cells inside the tumor body in UCs. We further validated that the elevated expression levels of GANAB were significantly correlated with high grade tumors (p-values of 1.72 × 10-10), advanced stages (6.47 × 10-6), and elevated in luminal molecular subtypes. Moreover, knocking-down GANAB using RNAi in UM-UC-3 and T24 cells inhibited cell proliferation and migration in vitro. Knockdown of GANAB resulted in cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. We demonstrated that GANAB mediated HIF1A and ATF6 transcriptional activation in the ER stress signaling, and regulated the gene expression of cell cycle-related transcriptional factors E2F7 and FOXM1. CONCLUSIONS: The elevated expression of GANAB is a novel indicator of poorer prognosis of UC. Our data suggests that GANAB is not only a new and promising prognostic biomarker for UC, but also may provide important cues for the development of PTM-based therapeutics for UC treatment.

Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of peripheral blood cells derived from patients with first-episode schizophrenia in the Chinese Han population.

Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder with core features including hallucinations, delusions, and cognition deficits. Accumulating evidence has implicated abnormal DNA methylation in the development of schizophrenia. However, the mechanisms by which DNA methylation changes alter the risk for schizophrenia remain largely unknown. We recently carried out a DNA methylome study of peripheral blood samples from 469 first-episode patients with schizophrenia and 476 age- and gender-matched healthy controls of Han Chinese origin. Genomic DNA methylation patterns were quantified using an Illumina Infinium Human MethylationEPIC BeadChip. We identified multiple differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and regions between patients and controls. The most significant DMPs were annotated to genes C17orf53, THAP1 and KCNQ4 (KV7.4), with Bonferroni-adjusted P values of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text], respectively. In particular, KCNQ4 encodes a voltage-gated potassium channel of the KV7 family, which is linked to neuronal excitability. The genes associated with top-ranked DMPs also included many genes involved in nervous system development, such as LIMK2 and TMOD2. Gene ontology analysis of the differentially methylated genes further identified strong enrichment of neuronal networks, including neuron projection extension, axonogenesis and neuron apoptotic process. Finally, we provided evidence that schizophrenia-associated epigenetic alterations co-localize with genetic susceptibility loci. By focusing on first-episode schizophrenia patients, our investigation lends particularly strong support for an important role of DNA methylation in schizophrenia pathogenesis unconfounded by the effects of long-term antipsychotic medication or disease progression. The observed DNA methylation aberrations in schizophrenia patients could potentially provide a valuable resource for identifying diagnostic biomarkers and developing novel therapeutic targets to benefit schizophrenia patients.

Identification of Novel Phenotypes Correlated with CKD: A Phenotype-Wide Association Study.

Background: A comprehensive understanding of phenotypes related to CKD will facilitate the identification and management of CKD. We aimed to panoramically test and validate associations between multiple phenotypes and CKD using a phenotype-wide association study (PheWAS). Methods: 15,815 subjects from cross-sectional cohorts of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2006) were randomly 50:50 split into training and testing sets. CKD was defined as eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73m2. We performed logistic regression analyses between each of 985 phenotypes with CKD in the training set (false discovery rate < 1%) and validated in the testing set (false discovery rate < 1% ). Random forest (RF) model, Nagelkerke's Pseudo-R2, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) were used to validate the identified phenotypes. Results: We identified 18 phenotypes significantly related to CKD, among which retinol, red cell distribution width (RDW), and C-peptide were less researched. The top 5 identified phenotypes were blood urea nitrogen (BUN), homocysteine (HCY), retinol, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and osmolality in RF importance ranking. Besides, BUN, HCY, PTH, retinol, and uric acid were the most important phenotypes based on Pseudo-R2. AUROC of the RF model was 0.951 (full model) and 0.914 (top 5 phenotypes). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated associations between multiple phenotypes with CKD from a holistic view, including 3 novel phenotypes: retinol, RDW, and C-peptide. Our findings provided valid evidence for the identification of novel biomarkers for CKD.

Development of a noninvasive tool to preoperatively evaluate the muscular invasiveness of bladder cancer using a radiomics approach.

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer (BCa) can be divided into muscle-invasive BCa (MIBC) and non-muscle-invasive BCa (NMIBC). Whether the tumor infiltrates the detrusor muscle is a critical determinant of disease management in patients with BCa. However, the current preoperative diagnostic accuracy of muscular invasiveness is less than satisfactory. The authors report a radiomic-clinical nomogram for the individualized preoperative differentiation of MIBC from NMIBC. METHODS: In total, 2602 radiomics features were extracted from whole bladder tumors and the basal part of the lesions on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Then, a radiomics signature was constructed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm in the training set (n = 130). Furthermore, a radiomic-clinical nomogram was developed incorporating the radiomics signature and selected clinical predictors based on a multivariable logistic regression analysis. The performance of the nomogram (discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness) was assessed and validated in an independent validation set (n = 69). RESULTS: The radiomics signature, consisting of 23 selected features, showed good discrimination in the training and validation sets (area under the curve [AUC], 0.913 and 0.874, respectively). Incorporating the radiomics signature and magnetic resonance imaging-determined tumor size, the radiomic-clinical nomogram showed favorable calibration and discrimination in the training set with an AUC of 0.922, which was confirmed in the validation set (AUC, 0.876). Decision curve analysis and net reclassification improvement and integrated discrimination improvement indices (net reclassification improvement, 0.338, integrated discrimination improvement, 0.385) demonstrated the clinical usefulness of the nomogram. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed noninvasive radiomic-clinical nomogram can increase the accuracy of preoperatively discriminating MIBC from NMIBC, which may aid in clinical decision making and improve patient prognosis.

Genomic Characterization of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Reveals Critical Genes Underlying Tumorigenesis and Poor Prognosis.

The genetic mechanisms underlying the poor prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are not well understood. Here, we report somatic mutations found in ESCC from sequencing 10 whole-genome and 57 whole-exome matched tumor-normal sample pairs. Among the identified genes, we characterized mutations in VANGL1 and showed that they accelerated cell growth in vitro. We also found that five other genes, including three coding genes (SHANK2, MYBL2, FADD) and two non-coding genes (miR-4707-5p, PCAT1), were involved in somatic copy-number alterations (SCNAs) or structural variants (SVs). A survival analysis based on the expression profiles of 321 individuals with ESCC indicated that these genes were significantly associated with poorer survival. Subsequently, we performed functional studies, which showed that miR-4707-5p and MYBL2 promoted proliferation and metastasis. Together, our results shed light on somatic mutations and genomic events that contribute to ESCC tumorigenesis and prognosis and might suggest therapeutic targets.

Non-viral environmental risk factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a systematic review.

This review aims to systematically summarize the epidemiological studies on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) conducted over the past half century, covering descriptive epidemiological studies and reports on non-viral risk factors. Multiple lines of epidemiologic evidence for established risk factors are systematically presented in comprehensive tables. The potential interactions among environmental factors and genetic components, and also the impacts of parallel sequencing technology on the aetiology of NPC are discussed. Finally, we propose a modified model for the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma based on the current knowledge.

Chitinase 3-like 1 expression associated with lymphatic metastasis and prognosis in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

Objectives: Lymphatic metastasis, an early stage of the metastasis process, is associated with adverse clinical outcomes in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB). However, the role of inflammation in triggering lymphatic metastasis remains unclear. Methods: We employed an RNA-sequencing cohort (n = 50) from Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital (SYMH) to identify the most highly upregulated inflammatory gene associated with lymphatic metastasis. Using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence analyses, we validated the association of the identified molecule with clinical features and prognosis in an independent UCB cohort (n = 244) from SYMH. We also analysed TCGA-BLCA cohort (n = 408) to identify its potential biological pathways and immune landscape. Results: In our study, chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1) emerged as a significantly overexpressed proinflammatory mediator in UCB tissues with lymphatic metastasis compared to those without lymphatic metastasis (81.1% vs. 47.8%, P < 0.001). Within UCB tissues, CHI3L1 was expressed in both stromal cells (52.8%) and tumor cells (7.3%). Moreover, CHI3L1+ stromal cells, but not tumor cells, exhibited independent prognostic significance for both overall survival (P < 0.001) and recurrence-free survival (P = 0.006). CHI3L1+ stromal cells were positively associated with D2-40+ lymphatic vessel density (P < 0.001) and the immunosuppressive PD-L1/PD-1/CD8 axis in UCB tissues (all P < 0.05). A bioinformatics analysis also identified a positive association between CHI3L1 expression and lymphangiogenesis or immunosuppression pathways. Conclusion: Our study established a clear association between stromal CHI3L1 expression and lymphatic metastasis, suggesting that stromal CHI3L1 expression is a potential prognostic marker for bladder cancer patients.

NAD+ metabolism enzyme NNMT in cancer-associated fibroblasts drives tumor progression and resistance to immunotherapy by modulating macrophages in urothelial bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: This study comprehensively investigates the association between the expression of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) and clinical outcomes of urothelial bladder cancer (UBC), as well as the molecular mechanisms by which NNMT in cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) modulates tumor progression and immunotherapy resistance in UBC. METHODS: Single-cell transcriptomic analyses, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence assays were performed on bladder cancer samples to validate the relationship between NNMT expression and clinical outcomes. A series of experiments, including chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry assay, and CRISPR‒Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9) knockout, together with in vivo models, have been established to determine the molecular functions of NNMT in CAFs in UBC. RESULTS: We demonstrated that elevated expression of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) metabolism enzyme NNMT in CAFs (NNMT+ CAFs) was significantly associated with non-response to programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockade immunotherapy in patients with UBC and predicted the unfavorable prognosis of UBC in two independent large cohorts. Targeting NNMT using the inhibitor 5-Amino-1-methylquinolinium iodide significantly reduced tumor growth and enhanced the apoptotic effects of the anti-PD-L1 antibody in UBC mouse models. Mechanistically, NNMT+ CAFs recruit tumor-associated macrophages via epigenetic reprogramming of serum amyloid A (SAA) to drive tumor cell proliferation and confer resistance to programmed death-1/PD-L1 blockade immunotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: NNMT+ CAFs were significantly associated with non-response to PD-L1 blockade immunotherapy in patients with UBC. Elevated NNMT, specifically in CAFs, upregulates SAA expression and enhances the recruitment and differentiation of macrophages in the tumor microenvironment, thereby directly or indirectly promoting tumor progression and conferring resistance to immunotherapies in bladder cancer.

Quantitative association of tobacco smoking with the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a comprehensive meta-analysis of studies conducted between 1979 and 2011.

Over the years, many studies have attempted to establish a link between tobacco smoking and an increased risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but their results have been inconsistent. To clarify this link, we first conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to integrate the findings of epidemiologic studies from the last half-century. The methodology used for this study followed the checklist proposed by the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) Group. Pooled risk estimates were generated using a random-effects model. Twenty-eight case-control studies and 4 cohort studies involving a total of 10,274 NPC cases and 415,266 comparison subjects were included. A substantial effect of smoking on the risk of NPC was identified in this study. The results showed that ever smokers had a 60% greater risk of developing the disease than never smokers (95% confidence interval: 1.38, 1.87); this was a robust dose-dependent association. More importantly, stronger associations were observed in low-risk populations and among persons with the predominant histological type of differentiated NPC than in high-risk populations and persons with an undifferentiated type; the odds ratios were 1.76 and 2.20, respectively, versus 1.29 and 1.27. In this comprehensive meta-analysis, well-established statistical evidence was provided about the role of tobacco smoking in the etiology of NPC.

The APC/C E3 ligase subunit ANAPC11 mediates FOXO3 protein degradation to promote cell proliferation and lymph node metastasis in urothelial bladder cancer.

Urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide, with striking tumor heterogeneity. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms that can be exploited for the treatment of aggressive UBC is a particularly relevant goal. Protein ubiquitination is a critical post-translational modification (PTM) that mediates the degradation of target protein via the proteasome. However, the roles of aberrant protein ubiquitination in UBC development and the underlying mechanisms by which it drives tumor progression remain unclear. In this study, taking advantage of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) 9 technology, we identified the ubiquitin E3 ligase ANAPC11, a critical subunit of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C), as a potential oncogenic molecule in UBC cells. Our clinical analysis showed that elevated expression of ANAPC11 was significantly correlated with high T stage, positive lymph node (LN) metastasis, and poor outcomes in UBC patients. By employing a series of in vitro experiments, we demonstrated that ANAPC11 enhanced the proliferation and invasiveness of UBC cells, while knockout of ANAPC11 inhibited the growth and LN metastasis of UBC cells in vivo. By conducting immunoprecipitation coupled with mass spectrometry, we confirmed that ANAPC11 increased the ubiquitination level of the Forkhead transcription factor FOXO3. The resulting decrease in FOXO3 protein stability led to the downregulation of the cell cycle regulator p21 and decreased expression of GULP1, a downstream effector of androgen receptor signaling. Taken together, these findings indicated that ANAPC11 plays an oncogenic role in UBC by modulating FOXO3 protein degradation. The ANAPC11-FOXO3 regulatory axis might serve as a novel therapeutic target for UBC.

LncRNA MIR4435-2HG drives cancer progression by modulating cell cycle regulators and mTOR signaling in stroma-enriched subtypes of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

BACKGROUND: The risk for recurrence and metastasis after treatment for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) is high. Therefore, identifying efficient prognostic markers and novel therapeutic targets is urgently needed. Several long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to be correlated with UCB progression. In this study, we found that the subtype-specific lncRNA MIR4435-2 host gene (MIR4435-2HG) plays a novel oncogenic role in UCB. METHODS: RNA-Seq data of TCGA/BLCA were analyzed. The expression of MIR4435-2HG was measured by qRT-PCR in 16 pairs of bladder cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues. The clinical relecance of MIR4435-2HG was validated via in situ hybridization performed on an in-house cohort of 116 UCB patient samples. RNA pull-down followed by mass spectrometry was performed to identify MIR4435-2HG-binding proteins. To identify signaling pathways involved in MIR4435-2HG activity, comprehensive in vitro and in vivo studies and RNA-Seq assays were performed using UCB cells in which MIR4435-2HG expression was knocked down or exogenously overexpressed. In addition, we performed RNA immunoprecipitation and Western blot analyses to validate the identified MIR4435-2HG-binding proteins and to determine the molecular mechanisms by which MIR4435-2HG promotes UCB progression. RESULTS: We found that MIR4435-2HG was significantly upregulated in the stromal-enriched subtype of UCB. Increased MIR4435-2HG expression was positively correlated with a high histological grade, advanced T stages, larger tumors, lymph node metastasis and a poor prognosis. In vitro experiments revealed that MIR4435-2HG expression silencing suppressed cell proliferation and induced apoptosis. Inhibition of MIR4434-2HG delayed xenograft tumor growth, while MIR4435-2HG overexpression reversed the MIR4435-2HG silencing-induced inhibition of UCB tumor phenotype acquisition. Mechanistically, we found that MIR4435-2HG positively regulated the expression of a variety of cell cycle regulators, including BRCA2 and CCND1. Knocking down MIR4435-2HG increased the sensitivity of tumor cells to the VEGFR inhibitor cediranib. Furthermore, we found that MIR4435-2HG regulated mTOR signaling and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signaling pathways by modulating the phosphorylation of mTOR, 70S6K and 4EBP1. Finally, we confirmed that MIR4435-2HG enhances tumor metastasis through regulation of the EMT pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that upregulated MIR4435-2HG expression levels are significantly correlated with a poor prognosis of UCB patients. MIR4435-2HG promotes bladder cancer progression, mediates cell cycle (de)regulation and modulates mTOR signaling. MIR4435-2HG is an oncogenic lncRNA in UCB that may serve as a diagnostic and therapeutic target.

PD1hi CD200hi CD4+ exhausted T cell increase immunotherapy resistance and tumour progression by promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition in bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer (BLCA) is one of the most diagnosed cancers in humans worldwide. Recently, immunotherapy has become a main treatment option for BC. However, most BLCA patients do not respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors or relapse after immunotherapy. Therefore, it is very important to identify novel biomarkers for the prediction of immunotherapy response in B patients. METHODS: Pancancer single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data were used to identify the clusters of CD4+ T cells in the tumour microenvironment (TME). The clinical significance of key CD4+ T-cell clusters was evaluated based on the survival data of two independent immunotherapy bladder cancer (BLCA) cohorts. We also investigated the function of key clusters of CD4+ T cell in the TME of BC cells in vitro. RESULTS: This study identified two novel exhausted CD4+ T-cell subpopulations with the expression of PD1hi CD200hi or PD1hi CD200low in BC patients. Moreover, BLCA patients with a high level of PD1hi CD200hi CD4+ exhausted T cell showed immunotherapy resistance. Cell function analysis demonstrated that PD1hi CD200hi CD4+ exhausted T cell can promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and angiogenesis in BLCA cells. In addition, PD1hi CD200hi CD4+ exhausted T cells were shown to communicate with malignant BLCA cells through the GAS6-AXL axis. Finally, we also found that GAS6 expression is upregulated in B cells by METTL3-mediated m6A modification. CONCLUSIONS: PD1hi CD200hi CD4+ exhausted T cell may serve as a novel biomarker for poor prognosis and immunotherapy resistance in B. Targeted inhibitors of PD1hi CD200hi CD4+ exhausted T cells may help improve the efficacy of immunotherapy.

STRESS granule-associated RNA-binding protein CAPRIN1 drives cancer progression and regulates treatment response in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common malignancy of the head and neck that is mainly diagnosed in southern China and Southeast Asia, with a strong etiological link to Epstein‒Barr virus infection. Those with advanced-stage disease have a significantly worse prognosis. There is an urgent need to identify novel therapeutic targets for the recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. With a particular focus on Cell Cycle Associated Protein 1 (CAPRIN1), one of the important RNA-binding proteints associated with stress granule formation, we used RT‒qPCR and immunohistochemistry to validate CAPRIN1 expression in NPC tissues and cell lines. Further, CAPRIN1 expression was knocked down using siRNA, and the effect on cell proliferation and migration was systematically assessed by in vitro assays. As a result, we demonstrated that CAPRIN1 was elevated in NPC compared to adjacent normal tissues. Knockdown of CAPRIN1 in NPC cells inhibited proliferation and migration, involving the regulation of cell cycle protein CCND2 and EMT signaling, respectively. Notably, we found that CAPRIN1 knockdown promoted cell apoptosis by regulation of the expression of apoptosis-related proteins cleaved-PARP and cleaved-Caspase3. Knockdown of CAPRIN1 increased NPC cell sensitivity to rapamycin, and increased NPC cell sensitivity to cisplatin and to X-rays. In conclusion, CAPRIN1 might drive NPC proliferation, regulate cell cycle and apoptosis, and affect tumor cell response to anti-cancer agents and X-ray irradiation. CAPRIN1 might serve as a potential target for NPC.

Identification of leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 59 (LRRC59) located in the endoplasmic reticulum as a novel prognostic factor for urothelial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. The biological heterogeneity of UCs causes considerable difficulties in predicting treatment outcomes and usually leads to clinical mismanagement. The identification of more sensitive and efficient predictive biomarkers is important in the diagnosis and classification of UCs. Herein, we report leucine-rich repeat-containing protein 59 (LRRC59) located in the endoplasmic reticulum as a novel predictive factor and potential therapeutic target for UCs. METHODS: Using whole-slide image analysis in our cohort of 107 UC samples, we performed immunohistochemistry to evaluate the prognostic value of LRRC59 expression in UCs. In vitro experiments using RNAi were conducted to explore the role of LRRC59 in promoting UC cell proliferation and migration. RESULTS: A significant correlation between LRRC59 and unfavorable prognosis of UCs in our cohort was demonstrated. Subsequent clinical analysis also revealed that elevated expression levels of LRRC59 were significantly associated with higher pathological grades and advanced stages of UC. Subsequently, knockdown of LRRC59 in UM-UC-3 and T24 cells using small interfering RNA significantly inhibited cell proliferation and migration, resulting in cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase. Conversely, the overexpression of LRRC59 in UC cells enhanced cell proliferation and migration. An integrated bioinformatics analysis revealed a significant functional network of LRRC59 involving protein misfolding, ER stress, and ubiquitination. Finally, in vitro experiments demonstrated that LRRC59 modulates ER stress signaling. CONCLUSIONS: LRRC59 expression was significantly correlated with UC prognosis. LRRC59 might not only serve as a novel prognostic biomarker for risk stratification of patients with UC but also exhibit as a potential therapeutic target in UC that warrants further investigation.

Negative Effects of Stromal Neutrophils on T Cells Reduce Survival in Resectable Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder.

Urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) is a major type of bladder cancer with a distinct tumor microenvironment (TME). Although neutrophils are the main component of myeloid cells in the TME, the clinical significance and function of the neutrophils remain unclear in UCB. Here, we observed CD66b+ neutrophils were predominantly enriched in the stroma of UCB tissues and their levels emerged as an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (P = 0.006, n = 237), and were positively associated with age (P = 0.033), tumor stage (P < 0.0001), nodal metastasis (P = 0.045), and histological grade (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, we found that CD66b+ neutrophils were frequently co-localized with CD4+ T cells (R=0.35, P = 0.0067), CD8+ T cells (R=0.52, P<0.0001) and Cleaved Caspase-3+ apoptosis cells (R=0.44, P = 0.0007) in the stroma of UCB tissue. In addition, better effects of T cells on patients' survival were markedly reduced by neutrophils and T cells co-infiltration. Moreover, we confirmed bladder tumor cell supernatant treated neutrophils suppressed T cell proliferation and activation, and promoted T cell apoptosis through GM-CSF induced PD-L1 in vitro. The expression of PD-L1 by neutrophils was also detected in fresh UCB tissues by using flow cytometric analysis. These data suggested that stromal CD66b+ neutrophils may potentially represent a reliable marker of poor prognosis for UCB patients, and neutrophils might play an immunosuppressive role on T cell immunity partially via the expression of PD-L1.

Human genetic variants of homologous recombination repair genes first found to be associated with Epstein-Barr virus antibody titers in healthy Cantonese.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is a major risk factor for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Despite high prevalence of infection among the general population worldwide, only a small proportion of infected individuals presents with seropositivity for EBV-specific IgA antibodies. This seropositive subgroup of EBV carriers has an elevated cumulative risk for NPC during their lifetime. Previous studies reported that the host homologous recombination repair (HRR) system participates in EBV lytic replication, suggesting a potential mechanism to influence EBV reactivation status and thus seropositivity. To investigate whether genetic variants of HRR genes are associated with the serostatus in a healthy population, we investigated the association between seropositivity for anti-VCA-IgA and 156 tagging SNPs in 35 genes connected with HRR in an observational study among 755 healthy Cantonese speakers in southern China. Six variant alleles of MDC1, RAD54L, TP53BP1, RPA1, LIG3 and RFC1 exhibited associations with seropositivity (p(trend) from 0.0085 to 0.00027). Our study provides evidence that genetic variation within the HRR might affect an individual's propensity for EBV seropositive status of anti-VCA IgA antibody.

Elevated Epstein-Barr virus seroreactivity among unaffected members of families with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Serum antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antigens can be used to predict the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). To investigate whether EBV seropositivity rates were higher among healthy family members from multiplex and sporadic families with NPC (i.e., families with multiple or single cases) compared to the general population, a study was conducted on 2,665 unaffected individuals from 140 multiplex and 413 sporadic families. The titers of the IgA antibody to the EBV capsid antigen (VCA-IgA) were compared to those of 904 controls from the general population. The VCA-IgA titer was correlated among sibling pairs to a high significance in both family types (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0005 for the multiplex and the sporadic families, respectively); parent-offspring pairs also showed significant correlation (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0002, respectively); and spouse pairs were correlated, but at lower significance levels (P = 0.0790 and P = 0.0040, respectively). When compared to the controls, among first-degree relatives in the multiplex families, the age- and gender-adjusted odds ratio (OR) was 2.06 (95% confidence interval 1.56-2.71), 3.55 (2.24-5.64), and 2.25 (1.57-3.23) for siblings, parents, and children, respectively. In the sporadic families, the adjusted OR was 1.55 (1.21-2.00) and 2.08 (1.51-2.86) for siblings and parents, respectively. The adjusted P-value of spouses lost significance in the multiplex families, but remained significant in the sporadic families (P = 0.0146). In conclusion, EBV seropositivity rates were elevated among unaffected family members in both multiplex and sporadic families with NPC.

Kidney damage causally affects the brain cortical structure: A Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Alterations in the brain cortical structures of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have been reported; however, the cause has not been determined yet. Herein, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to reveal the causal effect of kidney damage on brain cortical structure. METHODS: Genome-wide association studies summary data of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in 480,698 participants from the CKDGen Consortium were used to identify genetically predicted eGFR. Data from 567,460 individuals from the CKDGen Consortium were used to assess genetically determined CKD; 302,687 participants from the UK Biobank were used to evaluate genetically predicted albuminuria. Further, data from 51,665 patients from the ENIGMA Consortium were used to assess the relationship between genetic predisposition and reduced eGFR, CKD, and progressive albuminuria with alterations in cortical thickness (TH) or surficial area (SA) of the brain. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure the SA and TH globally and in 34 functional regions. Inverse-variance weighted was used as the primary estimate whereas MR Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier, MR-Egger and weighted median were used to detect heterogeneity and pleiotropy. FINDINGS: At the global level, albuminuria decreased TH (ß = -0.07 mm, 95% CI: -0.12 mm to -0.02 mm, P = 0.004); at the functional level, albuminuria reduced TH of pars opercularis gyrus without global weighted (ß = -0.11 mm, 95% CI: -0.16 mm to -0.07 mm, P = 3.74×10-6). No pleiotropy was detected. INTERPRETATION: Kidney damage causally influences the cortex structure which suggests the existence of a kidney-brain axis. FUNDING: This study was supported by the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 2020A1515111119 and 2017B020227007), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFA0902803), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81825016, 81961128027, 81772719, 81772728), the Key Areas Research and Development Program of Guangdong (Grant No. 2018B010109006), Guangdong Special Support Program (2017TX04R246), Grant KLB09001 from the Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Gene Regulation and Target Therapy of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, and Grants from the Guangdong Science and Technology Department (2020B1212060018).