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Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is the standard-of-care treatment for patients with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC), providing crucial benefits in tumor downstaging. Clinical parameters, such as molecular subtypes, influence the therapeutic impact of NACT. Moreover, severe adverse events delay the treatment process and reduce the effectiveness of therapy. Although metabolic changes during cancer treatment are crucial determinant factors in therapeutic responses and toxicities, related clinical research remains limited. Methods: One hundred paired blood samples were collected from 50 patients with LABC before and after a complete NACT treatment cycle. Untargeted metabolomics was used by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC–MS) to investigate the relationship between dynamically changing metabolites in serum and the responses and toxicities of NACT. Results: Firstly, we observed significant alterations in serum metabolite levels pre- and post-NACT, with a predominant enrichment in the sphingolipid and amino acid metabolism pathways. Second, pre-treatment serum metabolites successfully predicted the therapeutic response and hematotoxicities during NACT. In particular, molecular subtype variations in favorable treatment responses are linked to acyl carnitine levels. Finally, we discovered that the therapeutic effects of NACT could be attributed to essential amino acid metabolism. Conclusion: This study elucidated the dynamic changes in metabolism during NACT treatment, providing a possibility for developing responsive metabolic signatures for personalized NACT treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enrichment of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the tumour microenvironment (TME) has been recognized as one of the major factors in the initiation and development of resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors. C–C motif chemokine receptor 8 (CCR8), a marker of activated suppressive Tregs, has a significant impact on the functions of Tregs in the TME. However, the regulatory mechanism of CCR8 in Tregs remains unclear. Here, we revealed that a high level of TNF-α in the colorectal cancer (CRC) microenvironment upregulated CCR8 expression in Tregs via the TNFR2/NF-κB signalling pathway and the FOXP3 transcription factor. Furthermore, in both anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD1)-responsive and anti-PD1-unresponsive tumour models, PD1 blockade induced CCR8+ Treg infiltration. In both models, Tnfr2 depletion or TNFR2 blockade suppressed tumour progression by reducing CCR8+ Treg infiltration and thus augmented the efficacy of anti-PD1 therapy. Finally, we identified that TNFR2+CCR8+ Tregs but not total Tregs were positively correlated with adverse prognosis in patients with CRC and gastric cancer. Our work reveals the regulatory mechanisms of CCR8 in Tregs and identifies TNFR2 as a promising target for immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helicobacter pylori is one of the main predisposing factors for gastric cancer, causing chronic inflammation and proper glands atrophy in the gastric mucosa. Although H. pylori‐induced inflammation is a key inducer of precancerous lesions in the gastric mucosa, it remains unclear which precise immune cell subsets are responsible for the progression of H. pylori‐induced gastritis. Here, we observed an abundance of CD4+IL‐17A+FOXP3+ T cells exhibiting a Th17‐like phenotype within the microenvironment of H. pylori‐induced gastritis. Mechanistically, H. pylori upregulated the expression of IL‐6 in Dendritic cells and macrophages, by activating NF‐κB signaling through the virulence factor CagA and thus, induced IL‐17A expression in FOXP3+ T cells. Moreover, CD4+IL‐17A+FOXP3+ T cells were positively associated with advanced precancerous lesions. Therefore, these findings offer essential insights into how FOXP3+ T cells sense inflammatory signals from the environment, such as IL‐6, during H. pylori infections, thereby guiding the effector immune response and aggravating the gastritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing immune checkpoint inhibitors focus on activating T cells and show limited effectiveness in gastric cancer (GC). SIGLEC10 is identified as a novel tumor-associated macrophage-related immune checkpoint in other cancer types. However, its immunosuppressive role and clinical significance in GC remain unclear. In this study, we find a dominant expression of SIGLEC10 on CD68+ macrophages in GC. SIGLEC10 can suppress the proliferation and function of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells in vitro via the Akt/P38/Erk signaling pathway. Furthermore, in ex vivo and in vivo models, SIGLEC10 blockade promotes CD8+ T cell effector function. Finally, SIGLEC10+ macrophages are positively correlated with the adverse prognosis of GC. Our study highlights that SIGLEC10 directly suppresses T cell function and serves as a promising target for immunotherapy and suggests SIGLEC10+ macrophages as a novel potential predictor of the clinical prognosis of GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enrichment of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the tumour microenvironment (TME) has been recognized as one of the major factors in the initiation and development of resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors. C-C motif chemokine receptor 8 (CCR8), a marker of activated suppressive Tregs, has a significant impact on the functions of Tregs in the TME. However, the regulatory mechanism of CCR8 in Tregs remains unclear. Here, we revealed that a high level of TNF-α in the colorectal cancer (CRC) microenvironment upregulated CCR8 expression in Tregs via the TNFR2/NF-κB signalling pathway and the FOXP3 transcription factor. Furthermore, in both anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD1)-responsive and anti-PD1-unresponsive tumour models, PD1 blockade induced CCR8+ Treg infiltration. In both models, Tnfr2 depletion or TNFR2 blockade suppressed tumour progression by reducing CCR8+ Treg infiltration and thus augmented the efficacy of anti-PD1 therapy. Finally, we identified that TNFR2+CCR8+ Tregs but not total Tregs were positively correlated with adverse prognosis in patients with CRC and gastric cancer. Our work reveals the regulatory mechanisms of CCR8 in Tregs and identifies TNFR2 as a promising target for immunotherapy., (© The Author(s) (2023). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Journal of Molecular Cell Biology, CEMCS, CAS.)

Helicobacter pylori is one of the main predisposing factors for gastric cancer, causing chronic inflammation and proper glands atrophy in the gastric mucosa. Although H. pylori-induced inflammation is a key inducer of precancerous lesions in the gastric mucosa, it remains unclear which precise immune cell subsets are responsible for the progression of H. pylori-induced gastritis. Here, we observed an abundance of CD4 + IL-17A + FOXP3 + T cells exhibiting a Th17-like phenotype within the microenvironment of H. pylori-induced gastritis. Mechanistically, H. pylori upregulated the expression of IL-6 in Dendritic cells and macrophages, by activating NF-κB signaling through the virulence factor CagA and thus, induced IL-17A expression in FOXP3 + T cells. Moreover, CD4 + IL-17A + FOXP3 + T cells were positively associated with advanced precancerous lesions. Therefore, these findings offer essential insights into how FOXP3 + T cells sense inflammatory signals from the environment, such as IL-6, during H. pylori infections, thereby guiding the effector immune response and aggravating the gastritis., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)