Assessment of CD37 B-cell antigen and cell of origin significantly improves risk prediction in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
BLOOD
Authors: Xu-Monette, Zijun Y.; Li, Ling; Byrd, John C.; Jabbar, Kausar J.; Manyam, Ganiraju C.; de Winde, Charlotte Maria; van den Brand, Michiel; Tzankov, Alexandar; Visco, Carlo; Wang, Jing; Dybkaer, Karen; Chiu, April; Orazi, Attilio; Zu, Youli; Bhagat, Govind; Richards, Kristy L.; Hsi, Eric D.; Choi, William W. L.; Huh, Jooryung; Ponzoni, Maurilio; Ferreri, Andres J. M.; Moller, Michael B.; Parsons, Ben M.; Winter, Jane N.; Wang, Michael; Hagemeister, Frederick B.; Piris, Miguel A.; van Krieken, J. Han; Medeiros, L. Jeffrey; Li, Yong; van Spriel, Annemiek B.; Young, Ken H.
Abstract
CD37 (tetraspanin TSPAN26) is a B-cell surface antigen widely expressed on mature B cells. CD37 is involved in immune regulation and tumor suppression but its function has not been fully elucidated. We assessed CD37 expression in de novo diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and investigated its clinical and biologic significance in 773 patients treated with rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) and 231 patients treated with CHOP. We found that CD37 loss (CD37(-)) in similar to 60% of DLBCL patients showed significantly decreased survival after R-CHOP treatment, independent of the International Prognostic Index (IPI), germinal center B-cell-like (GCB)/activated B-cell-like (ABC) cell of origin, nodal/extranodal primary origin, and the prognostic factors associated with CD37(-), including TP53 mutation, NF-kappa B-high, Myc(high), phosphorylated STAT3(high), survivin(high), p63(-), and BCL6 translocation. CD37 positivity predicted superior survival, abolishing the prognostic impact of high IPI and above biomarkers in GCB-DLBCL but not in ABC-DLBCL. Combining risk scores for CD37(-) status and ABC cell of origin with the IPI, defined as molecularly adjusted IPI for R-CHOP (M-IPI-R), or IPI plus immunohistochemistry (IHC; IPI+IHC) for CD37, Myc, and Bcl-2, significantly improved risk prediction over IPI alone. Gene expression profiling suggested that decreased CD20 and increased PD-1 levels in CD37(-) DLBCL, ICOSLG upregulation in CD37(+) GCB-DLBCL, and CD37 functions during R-CHOP treatment underlie the pivotal role of CD37 status in clinical outcomes. In conclusion, CD37 is a critical determinant of R-CHOP outcome in DLBCL especially in GCB-DLBCL, representing its importance for optimal rituximab action and sustained immune responses. The combined molecular and clinical prognostic indices, M-IPI-R and IPI+IHC, have remarkable predictive values in R-CHOP-treated DLBCL.
Comprehensive analysis of long non-coding RNA-messenger RNA-microRNA co-expression network identifies cell cycle-related lncRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE
Authors: Zhu, Hai-Rong; Yu, Xiang-Nan; Zhang, Guang-Cong; Shi, Xuan; Bilegsaikhan, Enkhnaran; Guo, Hong-Ying; Liu, Li-Li; Cai, Yu; Song, Guang-Qi; Liu, Tao-Tao; Dong, Ling; Janssen, Harry L. A.; Weng, Shu-Qiang; Wu, Jian; Shen, Xi-Zhong; Zhu, Ji-Min
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to contribute to progression and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, expression profiling and interaction of lncRNAs with messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) remain largely unknown in HCC. The expression profiling of lncRNAs, mRNA and miRNAs was obtained using microarray. The Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis were used to characterize potential functions of differentially expressed mRNAs. Cytoscape was applied to construct an lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA co-expression network and candidate lncRNAs were validated via quantitative PCR in 30 pairs of HCC and adjacent tumor-free tissues. In this study, 1,056 upregulated and 1,288 downregulated lncRNAs were identified, while 2,687 mRNAs and 6 miRNAs were aberrantly expressed in HCC compared with adjacent tumor-free tissues. Potential functions of differentially expressed mRNAs were demonstrated to significantly participate in modulating critical genes in the cell cycle, such as cyclin E1 and cyclin B2. After screening, 95 lncRNAs, 5 miRNAs and 36 mRNAs were recruited for construction of lncRNA-mRNA-miRNA co-expression network in the cell cycle pathway. Subsequently, the top 5 lncRNAs that potentially modulate critical genes in the cell cycle were selected as the candidates for further verification. Kaplan-Meier curves using the Cancer Genome Atlas database showed that 13 targeted mRNAs were associated with overall survival of HCC patients. Finally, three lncRNAs, including ENST00000522221, lnc-HACE1-6:1 and lnc-ICOSLG-11:1, are significantly upregulated in HCC tissues compared with adjacent tumor-free tissues. These findings suggest that lncRNAs play essential roles in the pathogenesis of HCC via regulating coding genes and miRNAs, and may be important targets for diagnosis and treatment of this disease.