Core Needle Biopsy Enhances the Activity of the CCL2/CCR2 Pathway in the Microenvironment of Invasive Breast Cancer

The use of core needle biopsy (CNB) as a means to verify malignancy preoperatively is a paradigm in current breast cancer care, and the risk of enhancing tumor development by this procedure has been considered insignificant. Experimental work in mice has shown preoperative biopsies to increase tumor supportive elements in the microenvironment, whereas, in humans, the impact of CNB on the host’s immunologic response has not been investigated. In this pilot study, we compared the expression of CCL2/CCR2 pathway components at the protein level in samples from CNBs to those from the corresponding resected tumors from 52 patients with primary breast cancer. We found an increased expression of CD163, CD14 and CCR2 in monocytes/macrophages and a slight decrease of CCL2 in the malignant epithelium in the tumors after the biopsy. The increased infiltration of immunosuppressive monocytes/macrophages and the decreased tumor cell CCL2 expression, presumably due to the CCR2 availability-dependent CCL2 internalization, suggest that CNB enhances the activity of the CCL2/CCR2 pathway, and this finding warrants confirmatory examination. The switch in the context-dependent role of CCL2 on the polarization of macrophages may lead to increased tumor supportive function both locally and in the peripheral immune machinery. The future directions in breast cancer should include early interventions to support the tumor surveillance of the host.

High endogenous CCL2 expression promotes the aggressive phenotype of human inflammatory breast cancer

Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a highly aggressive malignancy with distinct clinical and histopathological features whose molecular basis is unresolved. Here we describe a human IBC cell line, A3250, that recapitulates key IBC features in a mouse xenograft model, including skin erythema, diffuse tumor growth, dermal lymphatic invasion, and extensive metastases. A3250 cells express very high levels of the CCL2 chemokine and induce tumors enriched in macrophages. CCL2 knockdown leads to a striking reduction in macrophage densities, tumor proliferation, skin erythema, and metastasis. These results establish IBC-derived CCL2 as a key factor driving macrophage expansion, and indirectly tumor growth, with transcriptomic analysis demonstrating the activation of multiple inflammatory pathways. Finally, primary human IBCs exhibit macrophage infiltration and an enriched macrophage RNA signature. Thus, this human IBC model provides insight into the distinctive biology of IBC, and highlights potential therapeutic approaches to this deadly disease.

Environmental eustress modulates β-ARs/CCL2 axis to induce anti-tumor immunity and sensitize immunotherapy against liver cancer in mice

Although psycho-social stress is a well-known factor that contributes to the development of cancer, it remains largely unclear whether and how environmental eustress influences malignant diseases and regulates cancer-related therapeutic responses. Using an established eustress model, we demonstrate that mice living in an enriched environment (EE) are protected from carcinogen-induced liver neoplasia and transplantable syngeneic liver tumors, owning to a CD8+ T cell-dependent tumor control. We identify a peripheral Neuro-Endocrine-Immune pathway in eustress, including Sympathetic nervous system (SNS)/β-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs)/CCL2 that relieves tumor immunosuppression and overcomes PD-L1 resistance to immunotherapy. Notably, EE activates peripheral SNS and β-ARs signaling in tumor cells and tumor infiltrated myeloid cells, leading to suppression of CCL2 expression and activation of anti-tumor immunity. Either blockade of CCL2/CCR2 or β-AR signaling in EE mice lose the tumor protection capability. Our study reveales that environmental eustress via EE stimulates anti-tumor immunity, resulting in more efficient tumor control and a better outcome of immunotherapy.

Predictive Role of CC-Chemokine Ligand 2 in Digestive System Cancers: A Meta-Analysis

Background: CC-chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) expression as a prognostic factor in digestive system cancers (DSCs) is inconclusive. Methods:Thus, our aim was to summarize the prognostic role of CCL2 in DSCs. Electronic database was carefully searched. Studies focusing on CCL2 expression as a prognostic marker in DSCs were included for analysis. Pooled data for survival outcomes and clinical features were recorded in terms of the hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI).Results: In all,1,458 patients with DSCs from 11 studies were included for analysis.The pooled data revealed that high CCL2 expression group was more easy to occur the presence of distal metastases (OR = 3.83, 95% CI: 1.98–7.38, P < 0.001), severer tumor invasion (OR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.31–4.34, P = 0.005), and advanced Tumor Nodal Metastasis stages (OR = 2.47, 95% CI: 1.12–5.45, P = 0.02). Moreover, poorer overall survival (HR = 2.09, P < 0.001) were observed in the group with high CCL2 expression. High levels of CCL2 also indicated dismay disease-free survival (HR = 1.87, P = 0.005) .Conclusions: Our findings indicate that CCL2 can serve as a prognostic indicator in DSCs.

IL-17A and CCL2 in blood serum and circulating neutrophils in patients with ovarian tumors.

e17536 Background: During the ovarian carcinogenesis, circulating neutrophils (Nph) phenotype switches to the pro-tumor, with an increase in the Nph C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2) expression. Proinflammatory interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is able to induce the CCL2 expression in Nph. The study aimed to evaluate the IL-17A and CCL2 levels in serum and circulating Nph in patients with ovarian tumors. Methods: The study included 97 ovarian cancer (OC) patients, 30 patients with benign ovarian tumors (BT) and the control (n=22). The levels of IL-17A (LLC "Cytokine", Russia) and CCL2 (Vector-Best-Volga, Russia) in serum and Nph lysate were assessed by ELISA. The systemic inflammation was assessed by neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Informed voluntary consent was obtained from all women. Statistical processing was performed using one-way ANOVA, Spearman correlations (Statistica 13.0 (TIBCO, USA)). Results: We found an increase in NLR in BT (4.3 ± 1.0) compared with the control (2.2 ± 0.1) (p = 0.020), a decrease in stage I-II OC (2.4 ± 0.2) compared with BT (p = 0.053), and an increase in stage III (4.5 ± 0.9) and IV (4.6 ± 0.5) compared with stage I-II OC (p = 0.054 and p = 0.046, respectively). The cytokines levels are presented in Table. The serum level of IL-17A in BT was higher than in the control (p = 0.010). In stage I-II OC, the serum IL-17A level was decreased in comparison with the BT (p = 0.004). In stage IV OC, the serum IL-17A was higher than in stage I-II (p = 0.015) and the control (p = 0.017). The level of IL-17A in Nph in BT did not differ from the control. In all stages of the OC, the IL-17A Nph level was lower than in the control (p1, 2, 3 = 0.0001). In stage IV OC, the expression of IL-17A in Nph was lower compared with stage III (p = 0.031). The serum and Nph levels of IL-17A were correlated only in stage I-II OC (r = 0.679, p = 0.011). The CCL2 serum levels in BT (p = 0.0002) and OC stage I-II, III, IV were higher compared with the control (p1 = 0.031, p2 = 0.001, p3 = 0.0005, respectively). The Nph CCL2 level was higher in BT than in the control (p = 0.001). In stage I-II OC, the expression of CCL2 in Nph was higher than in the control (p = 0.034), but lower than in the BT (p = 0.003). In OC stages III and IV, the Nph CCL2 level was higher than in the control, but did not differ from that in BT and stages I-II. In stage III OC, the CCL2 level in Nph negatively correlated with the serum IL-17A level (r = -0.405, p = 0.049). Conclusions: The pro-tumor polarization of circulating Nph is not IL-17A-dependent in patients with ovarian tumors. The patterns of the systemic immune response differ in benign ovarian tumors, early, and advanced ovarian cancer.[Table: see text]

AAV-mediated YAP expression in cardiac fibroblasts promotes inflammation and increases fibrosis

Fibrosis is a hallmark of heart disease independent of etiology and is thought to contribute to impaired cardiac dysfunction and development of heart failure. However, the underlying mechanisms that regulate the differentiation of fibroblasts to myofibroblasts and fibrotic responses remain incompletely defined. As a result, effective treatments to mitigate excessive fibrosis are lacking. We recently demonstrated that the Hippo pathway effector Yes-associated protein (YAP) is an important mediator of myofibroblast differentiation and fibrosis in the infarcted heart. Yet, whether YAP activation in cardiac fibroblasts is sufficient to drive fibrosis, and how fibroblast YAP affects myocardial inflammation, a significant component of adverse cardiac remodeling, are largely unknown. In this study, we leveraged adeno-associated virus (AAV) to target cardiac fibroblasts and demonstrate that chronic YAP expression upregulated indices of fibrosis and inflammation in the absence of additional stress. YAP occupied the Ccl2 gene and promoted Ccl2 expression, which was associated with increased macrophage infiltration, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, collagen deposition, and cardiac dysfunction in mice with cardiac fibroblast-targeted YAP overexpression. These results are consistent with other recent reports and extend our understanding of YAP function in modulating fibrotic and inflammatory responses in the heart.