CXC chemokine ligand 16: a Swiss army knife chemokine in cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arezoo Gowhari Shabgah ◽  
Maytham T. Qasim ◽  
Seyed Mojtaba Mostafavi ◽  
Angelina Olegovna Zekiy ◽  
Fatemeh Ezzatifar ◽  
...  

Abstract Today, cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Lately, cytokine and chemokine imbalances have gained attention amongst different involved pathways in cancer development and attracted much consideration in cancer research. CXCL16, as a member of the CXC subgroup of chemokines, has been attributed to be responsible for immune cell infiltration into the tumour microenvironment. The aberrant expression of CXCL16 has been observed in various cancers. This chemokine has been shown to play a conflicting role in tumour development through inducing pro-inflammatory conditions. The infiltration of various immune and non-immune cells such as lymphocytes, cancer-associated fibroblasts and myeloid-derived suppressor cells by CXCL16 into the tumour microenvironment has complicated the tumour fate. Given this diverse role of CXCL16 in cancer, a better understanding of its function might build-up our knowledge about tumour biology. Hence, this study aimed to review the impact of CXCL16 in cancer and explored its therapeutic application. Consideration of these findings might provide opportunities to achieve novel approaches in cancer treatment and its prognosis.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Liu ◽  
Yihang Qi ◽  
Jie Zhai ◽  
Xiangyi Kong ◽  
Xiangyu Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Despite the promising impact of cancer immunotherapy targeting CTLA4 and PD1/PDL1, a large number of cancer patients fail to respond. LAG3 (Lymphocyte Activating 3), also named CD233, is a protein Coding gene served as alternative inhibitory receptors to be targeted in the clinic. The impact of LAG3 on immune cell populations and co-regulation of immune response in breast cancer remained largely unknown. Methods To characterize the role of LAG3 in breast cancer, we investigated transcriptome data and associated clinical information derived from a total of 2994 breast cancer patients. Results We observed that LAG3 was closely correlated with major molecular and clinical characteristics, and was more likely to be enriched in higher malignant subtype, suggesting LAG3 was a potential biomarker of triple-negative breast cancer. Furthermore, we estimated the landscape of relationship between LAG3 and ten types of cell populations in breast cancer. Gene ontology analysis revealed LAG3 were strongly correlated with immune response and inflammatory activities. We investigated the correlation pattern between LAG3 and immune modulators in pan-cancer, especially the synergistic role of LAG3 with other immune checkpoints members in breast cancer. Conclusions LAG3 expression was closely related to malignancy of breast cancer and might serve as a potential biomarker; LAG3 might plays an important role in regulating tumor immune microenvironment, not only T cells, but also other immune cells. More importantly, LAG3 might synergize with CTLA4, PD1/ PDL1 and other immune checkpoints, thereby lending more evidences to combination cancer immunotherapy by targeting LAG3, PD1/PDL1, and CTLA4 together.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 9460
Author(s):  
Helmut Segner ◽  
Christyn Bailey ◽  
Carolina Tafalla ◽  
Jun Bo

The impact of anthropogenic contaminants on the immune system of fishes is an issue of growing concern. An important xenobiotic receptor that mediates effects of chemicals, such as halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Fish toxicological research has focused on the role of this receptor in xenobiotic biotransformation as well as in causing developmental, cardiac, and reproductive toxicity. However, biomedical research has unraveled an important physiological role of the AhR in the immune system, what suggests that this receptor could be involved in immunotoxic effects of environmental contaminants. The aims of the present review are to critically discuss the available knowledge on (i) the expression and possible function of the AhR in the immune systems of teleost fishes; and (ii) the impact of AhR-activating xenobiotics on the immune systems of fish at the levels of immune gene expression, immune cell proliferation and immune cell function, immune pathology, and resistance to infectious disease. The existing information indicates that the AhR is expressed in the fish immune system, but currently, we have little understanding of its physiological role. Exposure to AhR-activating contaminants results in the modulation of numerous immune structural and functional parameters of fish. Despite the diversity of fish species studied and the experimental conditions investigated, the published findings rather uniformly point to immunosuppressive actions of xenobiotic AhR ligands in fish. These effects are often associated with increased disease susceptibility. The fact that fish populations from HAH- and PAH-contaminated environments suffer immune disturbances and elevated disease susceptibility highlights that the immunotoxic effects of AhR-activating xenobiotics bear environmental relevance.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ze Gong ◽  
Koen van den Dries ◽  
Alessandra Cambi ◽  
Vivek Shenoy

Immune cells, such as macrophages and dendritic cells, can utilize podosomes, actin-rich protrusions, to generate forces, migrate, and patrol for foreign antigens. In these cells, individual podosomes exhibit periodic protrusion and retraction cycles (vertical oscillations) to probe their microenvironment, while multiple podosomes arranged in clusters demonstrate coordinated wave-like spatiotemporal dynamics. However, the mechanisms governing both the individual vertical oscillations and the coordinated oscillation waves in clusters remain unclear. By integrating actin polymerization, myosin contractility, actin diffusion, and mechanosensitive signaling, we develop a chemo-mechanical model for both the oscillatory growth of individual podosomes and wave-like dynamics in clusters. Our model reveals that podosomes show oscillatory growth when the actin polymerization-associated protrusion and the signaling-associated myosin contraction occur at similar rates, while the diffusion of actin monomers within the cluster drives mesoscale coordination of individual podosome oscillations in an apparent wave-like fashion. Our model predicts the influence of different pharmacological treatments targeting myosin activity, actin polymerization, and mechanosensitive pathways, as well as the impact of the microenvironment stiffness on the wavelengths, frequencies, and speeds of the chemo-mechanical waves. Overall, our integrated theoretical and experimental approach reveals how collective wave dynamics arise due to the coupling between chemo-mechanical signaling and actin diffusion, shedding light on the role of podosomes in immune cell mechanosensing within the context of wound healing and cancer immunotherapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuka Murata ◽  
Takashi Yamashiro ◽  
Takaomi Kessoku ◽  
Israt Jahan ◽  
Haruki Usuda ◽  
...  

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by a spectrum of liver pathologies, from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis. Recent studies have increasingly noted the aberrant expression of microRNAs closely related to NAFLD pathologies. We have previously shown the presence of increased levels of microRNA-27b (miR-27b) in patients with NAFLD. In this study, we investigated the role of miR-27b in NAFLD by examining the impact of up-regulated miR-27b on the differentiation of preadipocytes into mature adipocytes. We found that miR-27b-3p remarkably enhances the adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells associated with lipid accumulation and intracellular triglyceride contents. Furthermore, we have demonstrated not only that miR-27b-3p induces acyl-CoA thioesterase 2 (ACOT2) expression in 3T3-L1 cells, but also that the knockdown of ACOT2 suppresses lipid accumulation and adipocyte differentiation in both the presence and absence of miR-27b-3p treatment. Our data strongly suggest that the miR-27b-ACOT2 axis is an important pathway in adipocyte differentiation and may play a role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1600
Author(s):  
Nguyen Minh Tuan ◽  
Chang Hoon Lee

Anillin (ANLN), an actin-binding protein, reportedly plays a vital role in cell proliferation and migration, particularly in cytokinesis. Although there have been findings pointing to a contribution of ANLN to the development of cancer, the association of ANLN to cancer remains not fully understood. Here, we gather evidence to determine the applicability of ANLN as a prognostic tool for some types of cancer, and the impact that ANLN has on the hallmarks of cancer. We searched academic repositories including PubMed and Google Scholar to find and review studies related to cancer and ANLN. The conclusion is that ANLN could be a potent target for cancer treatment, but the roles ANLN, other than in cytokinesis and its influence on tumour microenvironment remodeling in cancer development, must be further elucidated, and specific ANLN inhibitors should be found.


2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cong Hu ◽  
Bo Pang ◽  
Guangzhu Lin ◽  
Yu Zhen ◽  
Huanfa Yi

AbstractIn recent years, a large number of studies have been carried out in the field of immune metabolism, highlighting the role of metabolic energy reprogramming in altering the function of immune cells. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of cells generated during a large array of pathological conditions, such as cancer, inflammation, and infection, and show remarkable ability to suppress T-cell responses. These cells can also change their metabolic pathways in response to various pathogen-derived or inflammatory signals. In this review, we focus on the roles of glucose, fatty acid (FA), and amino acid (AA) metabolism in the differentiation and function of MDSCs in the tumour microenvironment, highlighting their potential as targets to inhibit tumour growth and enhance tumour immune surveillance by the host. We further highlight the remaining gaps in knowledge concerning the mechanisms determining the plasticity of MDSCs in different environments and their specific responses in the tumour environment. Therefore, this review should motivate further research in the field of metabolomics to identify the metabolic pathways driving the enhancement of MDSCs in order to effectively target their ability to promote tumour development and progression.


Author(s):  
Daniel Crean ◽  
Evelyn P. Murphy

The NR4A1–NR4A3 (Nur77, Nurr1, and Nor-1) subfamily of nuclear receptors is a group of immediate early genes induced by a pleiotropy of stimuli including peptide hormones, growth factors, cytokines, inflammatory, and physiological stimuli, and cellular stress. NR4A receptors function as potent sensors of changes in the cellular microenvironment to control physiological and pathological processes through genomic and non-genomic actions. NR4A receptors control metabolism and cardiovascular and neurological functions and mediate immune cell homeostasis in inflammation and cancer. This receptor subfamily is increasingly recognized as an important molecular connection between chronic inflammation, altered immune cell responses, and cancer development. In this review, we examine how transcriptome analysis identified NR4A1/NR4A2 receptors as transcriptional regulators in mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) migration, cell cycle progression, and cytokine production to control local immune responses. In chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, NR4A receptors have been shown to modify the activity of MSC and fibroblast-like stromal cells to regulate synovial tissue hyperplasia, pathological angiogenesis, and cartilage turnover in vivo. Additionally, as NR4A1 has been observed as a major transcriptional regulator in tumor–stromal communication controlling tumorigenesis, we discuss how advances in the pharmacological control of these receptors lead to important new mechanistic insights into understanding the role of the tumor microenvironment in health and disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamila J. Bienkowska ◽  
Christopher J. Hanley ◽  
Gareth J. Thomas

The role of the tumour microenvironement (TME) in cancer progression and resistance to therapies is now widely recognized. The most prominent non-immune cell type in the microenvironment of oral cancer (OSCC) is cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF). Although CAF are a poorly characterised and heterogenous cell population, those with an “activated” myofibroblastic phenotype have been shown to support OSCC progression, promoting growth, invasion and numerous other “hallmarks of malignancy.” CAF also confer broad resistance to different types of therapy, including chemo/radiotherapy and EGFR inhibitors; consistent with this, CAF-rich OSCC are associated with poor prognosis. In recent years, much CAF research has focused on their immunological role in the tumour microenvironment, showing that CAF shield tumours from immune attack through multiple mechanisms, and particularly on their role in promoting resistance to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors, an exciting development for the treatment of recurrent/metastatic oral cancer, but which fails in most patients. This review summarises our current understanding of CAF subtypes and function in OSCC and discusses the potential for targeting these cells therapeutically.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan J. Baechle ◽  
David N. Hanna ◽  
Sekhar R. Konjeti ◽  
Jeffrey C. Rathmell ◽  
W. Kimryn Rathmell ◽  
...  

AbstractAdrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare but highly aggressive malignancy and nearly half of ACC tumors have been shown to overproduce and secrete adrenal steroids. Excess cortisol secretion, in particular, has been associated with poor prognosis among ACC patients. Furthermore, recent immunotherapy clinical trials demonstrated significant immunoresistance among cortisol-secreting ACC (CS-ACC) patients when compared to their non-Cortisol-secreting (nonCS-ACC) counterparts. The immunosuppressive role of excess glucocorticoid therapies and secretion is well established, however, the impact of the cortisol hypersecretion on ACC tumor microenvironment (TME), immune expression profiles, and immune cell responses remain largely undefined. In this study, we characterized the TME of ACC patients and compared the immunogenomic profiles of nonCS-ACC and CS-ACC tumors to assess the impact of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to immune processes on patient prognosis. Comprehensive multiplatform immunogenomic computational analyses of ACC tumors deciphered an immunosuppressive expression profile with a direct impact on patient survival. We identified several primary immunogenomic prognostic indicators and potential targets within the tumor immune landscape of CS-ACC that define a distinct TME and provide additional insight into the understanding of potential contributory mechanisms underlying failure of initial immunotherapeutic trials and poor prognosis of patients with CS-ACC.


Author(s):  
Hossam El-Sheikh Ali ◽  
Pouya Dini ◽  
Kirsten Scoggin ◽  
Shavahn Loux ◽  
Carleigh Fedorka ◽  
...  

Abstract Improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying ascending equine placentitis holds the potential for the development of new diagnostic tools and therapies to forestall placentitis-induced preterm labor. The current study characterized the equine placental transcriptome (chorioallantois [CA] and endometrium [EN]) during placentitis (placentitis group, n = 6) in comparison to gestationally-matched controls (control group, n = 6). Transcriptome analysis identified 2953 and 805 differentially expressed genes in CA and EN during placentitis, respectively. Upstream regulator analysis revealed the central role of toll-like receptors (TLRs) in triggering the inflammatory signaling, and consequent immune-cell chemotaxis. Placentitis was associated with the upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP1, MMP2, and MMP9) and apoptosis-related genes such as caspases (CASP3, CASP4, and CASP7) in CA. Also, placentitis was associated with downregulation of transcripts coding for proteins essential for placental steroidogenesis (SRD5A1 and AKR1C1), progestin signaling (PGRMC1 and PXR) angiogenesis (VEGFA, VEGFR2, and VEGFR3), and nutrient transport (GLUT12 and SLC1A4), as well as upregulation of hypoxia-related genes (HIF1A and EGLN3), which could explain placental insufficiency during placentitis. Placentitis was also associated with aberrant expression of several placenta-regulatory genes, such as PLAC8, PAPPA, LGALS1, ABCG2, GCM1, and TEPP, which could negatively affect placental functions. In conclusion, our findings revealed for the first time the key regulators and mechanisms underlying placental inflammation, separation, and insufficiency during equine placentitis, which might lead to the development of efficacious therapies or diagnostic aids by targeting the key molecular pathways.


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