scholarly journals Potential prognostic value of PD-L1 and NKG2A expression in Indonesian patients with skin nodular melanoma

Author(s):  
Ridwan Dwi Saputro ◽  
Hanggoro Tri Rinonce ◽  
Yayuk Iramawasita ◽  
Muhammad Rasyid Ridho ◽  
Maria Fransiska Pudjohartono ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Biomarker mRNA levels have been suggested to be predictors of patient survival and therapy response in melanoma cases. This study aimed to investigate the correlations between the mRNA expression levels of PD-L1 and NKG2A in melanoma tissue and clinicopathologic characteristics and survival in Indonesian patients with primary nodular melanoma. Results Thirty-two tissue samples were analyzed. Upregulated PD-L1 was associated with shorter overall survival (hazard ratio: 2.930; 95% confidence interval: 1.011–8.489, p = 0.048) compared with patients with normoregulated PD-L1. A significant positive correlation was found between the expression levels of PD-L1 and NKG2A (rs: 0.768, p < 0.001). However, no clinicopathologic associations with PD-L1 and NKG2A mRNA levels were statistically proven. Comparison with other studies suggested that the choice of adjuvant therapy and the presence of TILs affect the prognostic role of PD-L1 expression. NKG2A was not proven to be an independent predictive factor but may become an adjunct target for therapy. The strong correlation between PD-L1 and NKG2A suggests that anti-PD-1 and anti-NKG2A agents could be effective in patients with PD-L1 upregulation. The combination of the mRNA levels of these two target genes may provide a novel prognostic and therapeutic direction for immunotherapy.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ridwan Dwi Saputro ◽  
Hanggoro Tri Rinonce ◽  
Yayuk Iramawasita ◽  
Muhammad Rasyid Ridho ◽  
Maria Fransiska Pudjohartono ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Biomarker mRNA levels have been suggested to be predictors of patient survival and therapy response in melanoma cases. This study aimed to investigate the correlations between the mRNA expression levels of PD-L1 and NKG2A in melanoma tissue with clinicopathologic characteristics and survival in Indonesian primary nodular melanoma patients. Results Thirty-one tissue samples were obtained; two were excluded from survival analysis due to Breslow depth of less than 4 mm. The median survival of upregulated and normoregulated PD-L1-patients were 15.800 ± 2.345 and 28.945 ± 4.126 months, respectively. However, this difference was not significant statistically (p = 0.086). Upregulated and normoregulated NKG2A patients differed very little in median survival time (25.943 ± 7.415 vs 26.470 ± 3.854 months; p = 0.981). Expression of PD-L1 and NKG2A were strongly correlated (rs: 0.787, p < 0.001). No clinicopathologic associations with PD-L1 and NKG2A mRNA levels were observed. These results suggest that PD-L1 may have potential as a prognostic factor. Although an unlikely prognostic factor, NKG2A may become an adjunct target for therapy. The strong correlation between PD-L1 and NKG2A suggests that anti-PD-1 and anti-NKG2A agents could be effective in patients with PD-L1 upregulation. The mRNA levels of these two genes may help direct choice of immunotherapy and predict patient outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1478
Author(s):  
Jiayin Lu ◽  
Yaoxing Chen ◽  
Zixu Wang ◽  
Jing Cao ◽  
Yulan Dong

Restraint stress causes various maternal diseases during pregnancy. β2-Adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) and Forkhead transcription factor class O 1 (FOXO1) are critical factors not only in stress, but also in reproduction. However, the role of FOXO1 in restraint stress, causing changes in the β2-AR pathway in pregnant mice, has been unclear. The aim of this research was to investigate the β2-AR pathway of restraint stress and its impact on the oxidative stress of the maternal uterus. In the study, maternal mice were treated with restraint stress by being restrained in a transparent and ventilated device before sacrifice on Pregnancy Day 5 (P5), Pregnancy Day 10 (P10), Pregnancy Day 15 (P15), and Pregnancy Day 20 (P20) as well as on Non-Pregnancy Day 5 (NP5). Restraint stress augmented blood corticosterone (CORT), norepinephrine (NE), and blood glucose levels, while oestradiol (E2) levels decreased. Moreover, restraint stress increased the mRNA levels of the FOXO family, β2-AR, and even the protein levels of FOXO1 and β2-AR in the uterus and ovaries. Furthermore, restraint stress increased uterine oxidative stress level. In vitro, the protein levels of FOXO1 were also obviously increased when β2-AR was activated in endometrial stromal cells (ESCs). In addition, phosphorylated-nuclear factor kappa-B p65 (p-NF-κB p65) and its target genes decreased significantly when FOXO1 was inhibited. Overall, it can be said that the β2-AR/FOXO1/p-NF-κB p65 pathway was activated when pregnant mice were under restraint stress. This study provides a scientific basis for the origin of psychological stress in pregnant women.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (23) ◽  
pp. 12791
Author(s):  
Alexia Grangeon ◽  
Valérie Clermont ◽  
Azemi Barama ◽  
Fleur Gaudette ◽  
Jacques Turgeon ◽  
...  

The human small intestine can be involved in the first-pass metabolism of drugs. Under this condition, members of the CYP450 superfamily are expected to contribute to drug presystemic biotransformation. The aim of this study was to quantify protein expression levels of 16 major CYP450 isoforms in tissue obtained from nine human organ donors in seven subsections of the small intestine, i.e., duodenum (one section, N = 7 tissue samples), jejunum (three subsections (proximal, mid and distal), N = 9 tissue samples) and ileum (three subsections, (proximal, mid and distal), N = 9 tissue samples), using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) based targeted proteomics. CYP450 absolute protein expression levels were compared to mRNA levels and enzyme activities by using established probe drugs. Proteins corresponding to seven of sixteen potential CYP450 isoforms were detected and quantified in various sections of the small intestine: CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2J2, CYP3A4, CYP3A5 and CYP4F2. Wide inter-subject variability was observed, especially for CYP2D6. CYP2C9 (p = 0.004) and CYP2C19 (p = 0.005) expression levels decreased along the small intestine. From the duodenum to the ileum, CYP2J2 (p = 0.001) increased, and a trend was observed for CYP3A5 (p = 0.13). CYP3A4 expression was higher in the jejunum than in the ileum (p = 0.03), while CYP4F2 expression was lower in the duodenum compared to the jejunum and the ileum (p = 0.005). CYP450 protein levels were better correlated with specific isoform activities than with mRNA levels. This study provides new data on absolute CYP450 quantification in human small intestine that could improve physiologically based pharmacokinetic models. These data could better inform drug absorption profiles while considering the regional expression of CYP450 isoforms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Foteinos-Ioannis D. Dimitrakopoulos ◽  
Anna G. Antonacopoulou ◽  
Anastasia E. Kottorou ◽  
Nikolaos Panagopoulos ◽  
Fotini Kalofonou ◽  
...  

Abstract A growing number of studies has shed light on the role of the NF-κΒ in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To address the significance of major effectors of the NF-κΒ alternative pathway, we investigated the relationship between NF-κΒ2, RelB, NIK and Bcl3 expression (mRNA and protein) and the clinical outcome of NSCLC patients. NF-κΒ2, RelB, NIK and Bcl3 protein expression levels were assessed by immunohistochemistry in tissue samples from 151 NSCLC patients who had curative resection. mRNA levels were also evaluated in 69 patients using quantitative real-time PCR. Although all studied proteins were overexpressed in NSCLC (P < 0.001 for all), only RelB mRNA levels were strongly increased in cancerous specimens compared to tumor-adjacent non-neoplastic tissues (P = 0.009). Moreover, NF-κB2, RelB and Bcl3 expression was associated with overall survival (OS). In particular, cytoplasmic and mRNA expression of RelB was related to 5-year OS (P = 0.014 and P = 0.006, respectively). Multivariate analysis also showed that Bcl3 expression (nuclear and cytoplasmic) was associated with increased 5-year OS (P = 0.002 and P = 0.036, respectively). In addition, higher Bcl3 mRNA levels were associated with inferior OS in stages I & II and improved OS in stages III and IV after 5-year follow-up (P = 0.004 and P = 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, stage I patients with lower NF-κB2 mRNA levels had better 5-year survival in univariate and multivariate analysis (P = 0.031 and P = 0.028, respectively). Interestingly, RelB expression (cytoplasmic and mRNA) was inversely associated with relapse rates (P = 0.027 and P = 0.015, respectively), while low NIK cytoplasmic expression was associated with lower relapse rates (P = 0.019). Cytoplasmic NIK expression as well as NF-κB2/ Bcl3 detection was associated with lymph node infiltration (P = 0.039 and P = 0.014, respectively). The present study confirms the deregulation of the NF-κB alternative pathway in NSCLC and also demonstrates the importance of this pathway in prognosis, recurrence and infiltration of regional lymph nodes.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e15086-e15086
Author(s):  
A. E. Kottorou ◽  
A. G. Antonacopoulou ◽  
L. Skarlas ◽  
P. D. Grivas ◽  
C. D. Scopa ◽  
...  

e15086 Background: Nuclear factor Y- C (NFY-C) gene encodes one of the three subunits of nuclear factor Y, a highly conserved transcription factor which binds to the promoters of a variety of genes, which are implicated in cell cycle progression, drug metabolism and antigen presentation. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the role of NFY-C in colorectal cancer by evaluating its mRNA expression in both malignant and normal colonic tissue from patients with colorectal carcinomas with and without disease relapse. Methods: Publicly available expression microarray data were analyzed to reveal elevated levels of NFY-C in patients with colorectal carcinoma who relapsed compared to patients who remained disease free. The mRNA levels of NFY-C were evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR in 81 neoplastic colorectal tissue specimens and 23 normal tissue specimens from patients with colorectal cancer who had undergone curative resections at the University Hospital of Patras, Greece, between 1995 and 2005. The mRNA levels were analysed in relation to clinicopathological parameters. Results: No significant difference was found in the expression levels of NFY-C between normal and malignant tissues. The expression levels of NFY-C were not related to age, gender, grade, stage or primary site of the disease. However, a statistically significant difference (p=0.02) was observed in NFY-C levels between patients with and without disease recurrence. More specifically, patients with low NFY-C levels relapsed more often than patients who overexpressed NFY-C. Nevertheless, the expression was not related to time to disease progression. Finally, patients with higher NFY-C expression levels seem to have improved survival, compared to patients with low NFY-C expression levels although the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Expression levels of NFY-C seem to be associated with disease recurrence. The role of NFY-C in colorectal cancer warrants further investigation. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junmin Wang ◽  
Yanyun Yan ◽  
Zhiqi Zhang ◽  
Yali Li

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide. Aberrant expression levels of miR-10b-5p in breast cancer has been reported while the molecular mechanism of miR-10b-5p in tumorigenesis remains elusive. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the role of miR-10b-5p in breast cancer and the network of its target genes using bioinformatics analysis. In this study, the expression profiles and prognostic value of miR-10b-5p in breast cancer were analyzed from public databases. Association between miR-10b-5p and clinicopathological parameters were analyzed by non-parametric test. Moreover, the optimal target genes of miR-10b-5p were obtained and their expression patterns were examined using starBase and HPA database. Additionally, the role of these target genes in cancer development were explored via Cancer Hallmarks Analytics Tool (CHAT). The protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed to further investigate the interactive relationships among these genes. Furthermore, GO, KEGG pathway and Reactome pathway analyses were carried out to decipher functions of these target genes. Results demonstrated that miR-10b-5p was down-regulated in breast cancer and low expression of miR-10b-5p was significantly correlated to worse outcome. Five genes, BIRC5, E2F2, KIF2C, FOXM1, and MCM5, were considered as potential key target genes of miR-10b-5p. As expected, higher expression levels of these genes were observed in breast cancer tissues than in normal tissues. Moreover, analysis from CHAT revealed that these genes were mainly involved in sustaining proliferative signaling in cancer development. In addition, PPI networks analysis revealed strong interactions between target genes. GO, KEGG, and Reactome pathway analysis suggested that these target genes of miR-10b-5p in breast cancer were significantly involved in cell cycle. Predicted target genes were further validated by qRT-PCR analysis in human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 transfected with miR-10b mimic or antisense inhibitors. Taken together, our data suggest that miR-10b-5p functions to impede breast carcinoma progression via regulation of its key target genes and hopefully serves as a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker for breast cancer.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenz Förster ◽  
Dominic Indra ◽  
Reinhold Hofbauer

Abstract Background: L‑carnitine is an indispensable metabolite in eukaryotic cells, which facilitates transport of long‑chain fatty acids into the mitochondrial matrix for subsequent β-oxidation and helps to safeguard the acetyl-CoA level. Additionally, L‑carnitine has been proven to exert a nutrigenomic effect, modulating the expression of numerous target genes. However, the diverging time-dependent effects of short-term and extended L‑carnitine supplementation have not been investigated in more detail yet, especially in the interplay of adipocytes, liver and muscle cells. A cell culture model with conditions of L‑carnitine deficiency and supplementation for these cell types was established to investigate the effects of L‑carnitine on key nuclear receptors and their pathways. Results: L‑carnitine deficiency as well as L‑carnitine supplementation to hepatocytes modulated protein activity of multiple nuclear receptor pathways (RAR, RXR, VDR, PPAR, HNF4, ER, LXR). On the transcriptional level, short‑term L‑carnitine supplementation initially exerted an inhibitory effect on the steady state mRNA levels of PPAR‑α, PPAR‑δ, PPAR-γ, RAR‑β , LXR‑α and RXR‑α in adipocytes, liver and muscle cells. However, extended L‑carnitine supplementation for 24 and 48 hours led to a significant upregulation of PPAR‑α and PPAR‑δ , being key regulators of lipid catabolism, thereby promoting lipolysis and β-oxidation. In addition, significant differences in transcriptional modulation were found between adipocytes, liver and muscle cells. Extended L‑carnitine administration to hepatocytes also modulated mRNA expression levels of nuclear receptor target genes CYP2R1 , ALDH1A1 , HSD11B2 , OGT and HMGCR. Conclusions: These findings show a clear nutrigenomic effect of L‑carnitine on the protein activity and expression levels of selected nuclear receptors in different tissues, promoting lipolytic gene expression as well as decreasing transcription of adipogenic and insulin-resistance linked genes. Therefore L‑carnitine supplementation obviously is a promising strategy supporting established antihyperlipidemic therapies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guanglei Zhao ◽  
Jingsheng Shi ◽  
Jun Xia

Objective: to define the cadherin 2 (CDH2) gene polymorphism in Chinese osteoarthritis and control populations and to explore the correlation between CDH2 gene polymorphism and the risk of osteoarthritis. Method: a total of 476 patients with osteoarthritis were collected and 380 control subjects were included in the study. Clinical data such as gender, age and functional score were collected. The blood and tissue samples were collected and genotyped by PCR. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 19.0, Hapioview 4.2 and SNPstats softwares. Results: the association of rs11083271 and osteoarthritis was initially validated in this study population (P = 0.016, OR = 1.43 (1.07- 1.93)]. The risk of OA was significantly higher in heterozygous T/C than in homozygous T/T and C/C in rs11083271. By adjusting the age, according to gender stratification analysis, the heterozygous T/C genotype in rs11083271 significantly increased the risk of OA incidence in males [p = 0.011, 3.40 (1.55-7.43)]. The remaining rs sites were not significantly associated with OA. Notably, the association of rs11564299 with OA, regardless of genotyping, gene frequency and RNA expression levels in the study population, was not confirmed. Conclusion: in this study, we have analyzed the association between CDH2 gene polymorphism and OA in Chinese population. We found that rs11083271 heterozygous T/C genotype significantly increases the risk of OA and the severity of the disease. By contrast, the rs11564299 locus and OA have no significant correlation in the Chinese population. The role of rs11083271 in the regulation of CDH2 expression levels and the mechanisms by which it impacts OA remain to be further studied.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1232-1237
Author(s):  
Meydan Turan ◽  
Gulay Turan

Purpose: Pterygium is a common lesion of the ocular surface, and its etiology and pathogenesis are still uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the role of apoptosis and proliferation in pterygium formation and recurrence. Materials and methods: In this study, p53, Bcl-2, and Ki-67 expression levels were evaluated in primary pterygium ( n = 35) and recurrent pterygium ( n = 32) tissue samples and compared with normal conjunctiva ( n = 30) tissue samples. In addition, recurrent pterygiums were divided into three groups based on recurrence time, and their p53, Bcl-2, and Ki-67 expression levels were compared. Results: The results show that p53, Bcl-2, and Ki-67 expression levels were significantly higher in the pterygium tissue samples as compared to the control group ( p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively). When primary and recurrent pterygium tissues were compared, bcl-2 expression was higher in recurrent pterygium tissue samples ( p = 0.003). However, when Ki-67 and p53 expression levels were evaluated, no significant difference was found between primary and recurrent pterygium ( p = 0.215, p = 0.321, respectively). Also, p53 and Ki-67 expression were correlated in pterygium tissue samples, and Bcl-2 expression was significantly higher in pterygium that recurrence in the first 6 months after surgery. There was no difference between groups 1, 2, and 3 in terms of p53 and Ki-67 expression. Conclusion: Antiapoptotic mechanisms and proliferation play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of pterygium. Furthermore, Bcl-2 expression may be important in pterygium recurrence.


2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 277
Author(s):  
H. Kato ◽  
T. Koda ◽  
M. Kishimoto ◽  
T. Mitani ◽  
K. Matsumoto ◽  
...  

The spermatozoon is a specially differentiated cell designed to carry a haploid male genome into an oocyte at fertilization. It recently was reported that a matured spermatozoon contains several kinds of mRNAs and these are delivered into the oocyte at fertilization (Ostermeier et al. 2004 Nature 429, 154). The physiological role of paternally derived mRNAs is not clear; however, there is a report that the DNA methyltransferase (Dnmt) mRNA level in spermatozoa from male rats exposed to ethanol was significantly reduced (Bielawski et al. 2002 Alcohl. Clin. Res. 26, 347–351). The reduction of mRNA levels of Dnmt in spermatozoa would lead to altered epigenetic modification of the genome. Because factors such as age may affect spermatozoa mRNA levels, this study evaluated the effect of individual aging on the expression levels of Dnmts during spermatogenesis. This was accomplished by determining expression levels of Dnmts in the whole testis and in spermatozoa from young and aged mice by quantitative reverse-transcription-PCR. Seven- (young) and 68- (aged) week-old C57BL/6N male mice (n = 3/group) were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and whole testes and matured spermatozoa were collected. Total RNA was extracted and purified from each sample. In this study, 5 Dnmts (Dnmt1s, Dnmt1p, Dnmt3a, Dnmt3b, and Dnmt3l) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a reference gene, were examined for expression levels in whole testis and spermatozoa using SYBR Premix Ex Taq (Takara Bio, Inc., Otsu, Shiga, Japan) and the 7300 Real-Time PCR System (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA). Real-Time PCR runs for each Dnmt and GAPDH were repeated 3 times using different RNA batches from different individuals. The GAPDH expression level was used to normalize the expression levels of each Dnmt. Data were analyzed by Student&apos;s t-test. Relative expression levels of each Dnmt in testis from aged males compared to that of young males were 0.94, 1.15, 0.91, 1.15, and 1.14 (Dnmt1s, Dnmt1p, Dnmt3a, Dnmt3b, and Dnmt3l, respectively). There was no difference in the expression levels of the 5 Dnmts examined between testes from aged and young males. On the other hand, the relative amounts of each Dnmt mRNA in spermatozoa from aged males compared to that of young males were 0.87, 0.01, 0.54, 1.07, and 1.75 (Dnmt1s, Dnmt1p, Dnmt3a, Dnmt3b, and Dnmt3l, respectively). There was a significant reduction (P &lt; 0.05) in the amount of Dnmt1p mRNA. The reason why the amount of Dnmt1p mRNA in spermatozoa from aged male mice showed such reduction is not clear. There was no difference in the relative expression levels of Dnmt1p in testis irrespective of male age. Dnmt1p is only translated in the spermatocyte during the pachytene stage in meiosis and its physiological role is not clear. To elucidate this male, age-related reduction of the amount of Dnmt1p mRNA in spermatozoa would clarify part of physiological role of Dnmt1p. This work was supported by Wakayama Prefecture Collaboration of Regional Entities for the Advanced of Technological Excellence, Japan, and by a Grant-in-Aid for the 21st Century Center of Excellence Program of the MEXT, Japan.


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