The BCL-2 inhibitor APG-2575 resets tumor-associated macrophages toward the M1 phenotype, promoting a favorable response to anti-PD-1 therapy via NLRP3 activation.

The main challenges in the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are ascribed to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and the lack of sufficient infiltration of activated CD8+ T cells. Transforming the tumor microenvironment (TME) from "cold" to "hot" and thus more likely to potentiate the effects of ICIs is a promising strategy for cancer treatment. We found that the selective BCL-2 inhibitor APG-2575 can enhance the antitumor efficacy of anti-PD-1 therapy in syngeneic and humanized CD34+ mouse models. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we found that APG-2575 polarized M2-like immunosuppressive macrophages toward the M1-like immunostimulatory phenotype with increased CCL5 and CXCL10 secretion, restoring T-cell function and promoting a favorable immunotherapy response. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that APG-2575 directly binds to NF-κB p65 to activate NLRP3 signaling, thereby mediating macrophage repolarization and the activation of proinflammatory caspases and subsequently increasing CCL5 and CXCL10 chemokine production. As a result, APG-2575-induced macrophage repolarization could remodel the tumor immune microenvironment, thus improving tumor immunosuppression and further enhancing antitumor T-cell immunity. Multiplex immunohistochemistry confirmed that patients with better immunotherapeutic efficacy had higher CD86, p-NF-κB p65 and NLRP3 levels, accompanied by lower CD206 expression on macrophages. Collectively, these data provide evidence that further study on APG-2575 in combination with immunotherapy for tumor treatment is required.

A Comprehensive Pan-Cancer Analysis of the Regulation and Prognostic Effect of Coat Complex Subunit Zeta 1.

The Coatomer protein complex Zeta 1 (COPZ1) has been reported to play an essential role in maintaining the survival of some types of tumors. In this study, we sought to explore the molecular characteristics of COPZ1 and its clinical prognostic value through a pan-cancers bioinformatic analysis. We found that COPZ1 was extremely prevalent in a variety of cancer types, and high expression of COPZ1 was linked to poor overall survival in many cancers, while low expression in LAML and PADC was correlated with tumorigenesis. Besides, the CRISPR Achilles' knockout analysis revealed that COPZ1 was vital for many tumor cells' survival. We further demonstrated that the high expression level of COPZ1 in tumors was regulated in multi-aspects, including abnormal CNV, DNA-methylation, transcription factor and microRNAs. As for the functional exploration of COPZ1, we found a positive relationship between COPZ1's expression and stemness and hypoxia signature, especially the contribution of COPZ1 on EMT ability in SARC. GSEA analysis revealed that COPZ1 was associated with many immune response pathways. Further investigation demonstrated that COPZ expression was negatively correlated with immune score and stromal score, and low expression of COPZ1 has been associated to more antitumor immune cell infiltration and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The further analysis of COPZ1 expression and anti-inflammatory M2 cells showed a consistent result. Finally, we verified the expression of COPZ1 in HCC cells, and proved its ability of sustaining tumor growth and invasion with biological experiments. Our study provides a multi-dimensional pan-cancer analysis of COPZ and demonstrates that COPZ1 can serve as both a prospective target for the treatment of cancer and a prognostic marker for a variety of cancer types.

Novel prognostic model predicts overall survival in colon cancer based on RNA splicing regulation gene expression.

Colon cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Dysregulated RNA splicing factors have been reported to be associated with tumorigenesis and development in colon cancer. In this study, we interrogated clinical and RNA expression data of colon cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Genes regulating RNA splicing correlated with survival in colon cancer were identified and a risk score model was constructed using Cox regression analyses. In the risk model, RNA splicing factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PPARGC1) is correlated with a good survival outcome, whereas Cdc2-like kinase 1(CLK1), CLK2, and A-kinase anchor protein 8-like (AKAP8L) with a bad survival outcome. The risk model has a good performance for clinical prognostic prediction both in the TCGA cohort and the other two validation cohorts. In the tumor microenvironment (TME) analysis, the immune score was higher in the low-risk group, and TME-related pathway gene expression was also higher in low-risk group. We further verified the mRNA and protein expression levels of these four genes in the adjacent nontumor, tumor, and liver metastasis tissues of colon cancer patients, which were consistent with bioinformatics analysis. In addition, knockdown of AKAP8L can suppress the proliferation and migration of colon cancer cells. Animal studies have also shown that AKAP8L knockdown can inhibit tumor growth in colon cancer in vivo. We established a prognostic risk model for colon cancer based on genes related to RNA splicing regulation and uncovered the role of AKAP8L in promoting colon cancer progression.

High AKAP8L expression predicts poor prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a severe disease with high mortality, and is associated with poor prognosis and frequent lymphatic metastasis. Therefore, prognostic indicators for ESCC are urgently needed. A-kinase anchor-protein 8-like (AKAP8L) is a member of the A kinase anchor-protein (AKAPs) family and is overexpressed in many cancers. However, the role of AKAP8L in ESCC remains unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression patterns and prognostic value of AKAP8L in ESCC. METHODS: The mRNA expression of AKAP8L was analyzed from the dataset of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Immunohistochemistry was applied to detect the AKAP8L expression in tissue microarray. Pearson's chi-square test was carried out for the correlation analysis of clinicopathological features and AKAP8L expression. The prognostic significance of clinicopathological features and AKAP8L expression was determined by univariate and multivariate Cox hazard models. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used for survival analysis. RESULTS: We found that the mRNA level of AKAP8L was higher in tumor tissues than in adjacent tissues in TCGA and GEO dataset. High AKAP8L expression was associated with poor overall survival (OS) in ESCC patients (p = 0.0039). Besides, AKAP8L expression was highly expressed in patients with lymph node metastasis detected by ESCC tissue microarray (p = 0.0014). The comparison of the different clinicopathological features of ESCC between high and low AKAP8L expression groups revealed that high AKAP8L expression was related to lymph node stage (p = 0.041). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that high AKAP8L expression indicates an unfavorable progression-free survival (PFS) and OS in ESCC patients (p < 0.0001). Univariate and multivariate analyses confirmed that AKAP8L was an independent prognostic factor for PFS and OS in ESCC (p = 0.003 and p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, this study demonstrated that high expression of AKAP8L is associated with poor prognosis of ESCC and can be considered an independent risk factor for ESCC.

HIF-1α inhibition promotes the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

The response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) monotherapy remains unsatisfactory in patients with NSCLC. Thus, combining ICIs with other potential modalities is of great significance to enhance the response of single drug alone. Here, we identified that HIF-1α inhibition was capable of promoting anti-tumor immunity in NSCLC. We applied NSCLC cell lines and mouse models to evaluate the synergy of combined HIF-1α inhibition and PD-1 blockade on tumor growth and the function of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Public datasets were utilized to investigate patients' prognosis based on expressions of HIF-1α and LOXL2 as well as EMT-associated markers and CD8+ TILs. Moreover, we explored the correlation between HIF-1α and LOXL2 levels and CD8+ TILs in tumor samples from patients with NSCLC by immunohistochemistry, as well as their association to patients' survival. In vitro, PX-478, an HIF-1α inhibitor, promoted tumor cell apoptosis induced by T cells when combined with ICIs. Furthermore, mice treated with PX-478 and anti-PD-1 antibodies exhibited a marked delay in tumor growth and prolonged survival, which correlated with increased TILs and granzyme B secretion. Besides, patients with high HIF-1α expression exhibited high levels of EMT-related markers and low TILs, indicating an immunosuppressive phenotype. Mechanistically, we observed that HIF-1α inhibition suppressed the EMT phenotypes induced by hypoxia and further alleviated tumor immunosuppression, which was related to blockage of HIF-1α/LOXL2 signaling pathway. In summary, we identified that HIF-1α inhibition could synergize with anti-PD-1 to impair tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Our data suggest that HIF-1α inhibitors represent a promising treatment to enhance anti-tumor immunity and provide preclinical rationale to evaluate the combination of ICIs with HIF-1α inhibition clinically in NSCLC.

Gemcitabine and APG-1252, a novel small molecule inhibitor of BCL-2/BCL-XL, display a synergistic antitumor effect in nasopharyngeal carcinoma through the JAK-2/STAT3/MCL-1 signaling pathway.

Advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has a poor prognosis, with an unfavorable response to palliative chemotherapy. Unfortunately, there are few effective therapeutic regimens. Therefore, we require novel treatment strategies with enhanced efficacy. The present study aimed to investigate the antitumor efficacy of APG-1252-M1, a dual inhibitor of BCL-2/BCL-XL, as a single agent and combined with gemcitabine. We applied various apoptotic assays and used subcutaneous transplanted NPC model to assess the in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity. Moreover, phospho-tyrosine kinase array was used to investigate the combined therapy's potential synergistic mechanism. In addition, further validation was performed using immunohistochemistry and western blotting. In vitro, we observed that APG-1252-M1 had moderate antitumor activity toward NPC cells; however, it markedly improved gemcitabine's ability to promote NPC cell apoptosis and suppress invasion, migration, and proliferation. Specifically, APG-1252 plus gemcitabine exhibited even remarkable antitumor activity in vivo. Mechanistically, the drug combination synergistically suppressed NPC by activating caspase-dependent pathways, blocking the phospho (p)-JAK-2/STAT3/MCL-1 signaling pathway, and inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In conclusion, the results indicated that the combination of APG-1252 and gemcitabine has synergistic anticancer activities against NPC, providing a promising treatment modality for patients with NPC.

Prognostic significance of CDC25C in lung adenocarcinoma: An analysis of TCGA data.

OBJECTIVE: Cell division cycle 25C (CDC25C) is involved in the regulation of the G2/M phase transition and is associated with various cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer. We evaluated its prognostic value in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) based on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). METHODS: Kruskal-Wallis test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and logistic regression were used to evaluate relationships between clinical-pathologic features and CDC25C expression. Cox regression analyses and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to evaluate factors contributing to prognosis. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed. RESULTS: High CDC25C expression in LUAD was associated with a high tumor extent (odds ratio (OR) = 2.23 (1.52-3.29), P < 0.001), regional lymph node invasion (OR = 2.18 (1.48-3.22), P < 0.001), OR = advanced stage (OR = 2.47 (1.72-3.59), P < 0.001), and poor status (OR = 1.87 (1.19-2.96), P = 0.007). A univariate analysis showed that high CDC25C expression is associated with a short overall survival (OS) (HR: 1.873; 95% CI: 1.385-2.535; P < 0.001) and poor progression-free survival (HR: 1.503; 95% CI: 1.173-1.926; P = 0.0012). In a multivariate analysis, high CDC25C expression was associated with poor OS (HR = 2.193; CI: 1.394-3.452, P = 0.001). GSEA showed the enrichment of cell cycle, apoptosis, p53-dependent G1 DNA damage response, S-phase, mitotic M-M G1 phases, and FA-mediated cell death in the CDC25C high-expression phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: CDC25C predicts poor prognosis in LUAD and may function in cell cycle regulation and FAS-mediated apoptosis.

The efficacy and safety of ALK inhibitors in the treatment of ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer: A network meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The current study was carried out to compare the effectiveness and safety of different ALK inhibitors in treating ALK+ NSCLC. METHODS: Progression-free survival (PFS), disease control rate (DCR), overall response rate (ORR), and intracranial ORR and DCR have been aggregated to appraise the effectiveness of each ALKi. The discontinuation rate due to adverse events (AEs) was pooled to evaluate their safety. Bayesian network meta-analyses were used to compare the ORR, DCR, PFS, and discontinuation rate of patients treated with alectinib, ceritinib, crizotinib, and chemotherapy. RESULTS: Compared with chemotherapy, ALK inhibitors significantly prolonged PFS [hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI): alectinib, 0.50 (0.43-0.58); ceritinib, 0.75 (0.69-0.83); crizotinib, 0.71 (0.66-0.76)]. The ORRs were significantly higher for ALK inhibitors than for chemotherapy [odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% CI: alectinib, 11.69 (4.29-36.56); ceritinib, 7.85 (3.44-19.27); crizotinib, 6.04 (3.33-11.71)]. The discontinuation rates were lower for ALK inhibitors than for chemotherapy [OR and corresponding 95% CI: alectinib, 0.42 (0.12-1.36); ceritinib, 0.52 (0.20-1.35); crizotinib, 0.70 (0.30-1.62)]. CONCLUSIONS: ALK+ NSCLC patients treated with ALKi tend to have longer PFS than those treated with chemotherapy. ALKi-naïve patients tended to response better than their ALKi-pretreated counterparts. Alectinib appeared to be preferable for treating brain metastases due to its high intracranial efficacy. Patients treated with alectinib or ceritinib tended to have higher ORR and DCR than patients with similar baselines treated with crizotinib or chemotherapy. No significant differences in discontinuation rate were found for alectinib, ceritinib, crizotinib, and chemotherapy.

The efficacy and safety of alectinib in the treatment of ALK+ NSCLC: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Alectinib is a second-generation anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat crizotinib-refractory non-small cell lung cancer. We performed this meta-analysis to synthesize the results of different clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of alectinib. METHODS: A search of 3 databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, was performed from the inception of each database through September 5, 2017. We have pooled the overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate, progression-free survival, and intracranial ORR to evaluate the efficacy of alectinib. Discontinuation rate, rate of dose reduction or interruption due to adverse events as well as the incidence of several adverse events were aggregated to evaluate its safety. RESULTS: A total of 8 studies with 626 patients have been included in our study. The pooled efficacy parameters are as follows: ORR 70% (95% CI: 57% to 82%), disease control rate 88% (95% CI: 82% to 94%), progression-free survival 9.36 months (95% CI: 7.38% to 11.34%), and intracranial ORR 52% (95% CI: 45% to 59%). ALK inhibitor-naïve patients tend to have better responses than crizotinib-pretreated patients. The aggregate discontinuation rate is 7% (95% CI: 4% to 10%), and the pooled rate of dose reduction or interruption is 33% (95% CI: 24% to 42%). The incidences of most adverse events were relatively low, while the incidences of 2 frequently reported adverse events, myalgia (18%) and anemia (25%), were even higher than with the first-generation ALK inhibitor crizotinib. CONCLUSION: Generally, alectinib is a drug with preferable efficacy and tolerable adverse effects, and it is suitable for the treatment of intracranial metastases.