Siglec-15 Is an Immune Suppressor and Potential Target for Immunotherapy in the Pre-Metastatic Lymph Node of Colorectal Cancer

Bibliographic Details
Title: Siglec-15 Is an Immune Suppressor and Potential Target for Immunotherapy in the Pre-Metastatic Lymph Node of Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Hang Du, Jingling Tang, Xiaoyun Li, Xinjun Wang, Liyun Wu, Ruyi Zhang, Pingsheng Hu, Yuan Yang
Source: Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, Vol 9 (2021)
Publisher Information: Frontiers Media S.A., 2021.
Publication Year: 2021
Collection: LCC:Biology (General)
Subject Terms: pre-metastatic niche, lymph nodes, colorectal cancer, immunosuppressive, SIGLEC15, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
More Details: Lymph node metastasis indicates a poor prognosis in colorectal cancer. To better understand the underlying mechanisms of lymph node metastasis, we analyzed transcriptome characteristics of the pre-metastatic lymph node, a putative microenvironment favorable for the seeding and proliferation of cancer cells. Thus, we tried to compare and elucidate the transcriptional and immune characteristics of sentinel lymph nodes (SNs) with matched non-sentinel lymph nodes (NSNs) in colorectal cancer patients. In this study, a total of 38 pairs of SNs and NSNs were collected, in which 26 pairs of non-metastatic lymph nodes were subjected to RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis for the gene expression profiles. There were 16 differentially expressed genes between SNs and NSNs being identified, including 9 upregulated and 7 downregulated genes in SN. Gene Ontology (GO) classification analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in leukocyte differentiation, chemokine secretion, and immune system regulation. In the meantime, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) showed that immune-related signaling pathways, such as transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)/nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling, were enriched in NSN, while cell proliferation–related signaling pathways were enriched in SN, including MYC signaling and G2M checkpoint signaling. We further identified SIGLEC15 as a top upregulated gene in SN. However, RNAscope assay showed that SIGLEC15 was not largely co-expressed with M2 macrophage marker CD163. We then selected eight pairs of lymph nodes for further cytological studies. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that Siglec-15 was expressed on all myeloid cell subsets. The relative expression of SEGLEC15 (SN/NSN) was correlated with the microsatellite instability (MSI) status in colorectal cancer patients. Further studies found that small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA)-mediated silencing of SLGLEC15 can enhance the anti-tumor function of T cells, as indicated by cytokine release analysis. In conclusion, we presented here a first report on the gene expression profiling of the pre-metastatic lymph node in colorectal cancer. The findings in this study suggest that SIGLEC15 plays an important role in SN immunosuppression. SEGLEC15 silencing could be a therapeutic strategy for restoring T cell function in tumor SNs.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2296-634X
Relation: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.691937/full; https://doaj.org/toc/2296-634X
DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.691937
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/5ef746f08fca438baab54789616d24b4
Accession Number: edsdoj.5ef746f08fca438baab54789616d24b4
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:2296634X
DOI:10.3389/fcell.2021.691937
Published in:Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
Language:English