» Articles » PMID: 38252495

CXC Ligand 13 Orchestrates an Immunoactive Microenvironment and Enhances Immunotherapy Response in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Overview
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

: This study aims to systematically explore the role of chemokine CXC ligand 13 (CXCL13) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). : The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases provided the RNA-seq data for cancer and normal tissues, respectively. Gene set enrichment analysis was applied to search the cancer hallmarks associated with CXCL13 expression. TIMER2.0 was the main platform used to investigate the immune cell infiltration related to CXCL13. Immunohistochemistry was applied to explore the relationship between CXCL13 and patients' prognosis and the relationship between CXCL13 and tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs). : The expression of CXCL13 was upregulated in most tumors, including HNSCC. The higher expression of CXCL13 was closely related to the positive prognosis of HNSCC. CXCL13 was mainly expressed in B cells and CD8 + T cells, revealing the relationship between its expression and immune activation in the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry and multiple fluorescence staining analysis of HNSCC samples showed a powerful correlation between CXCL13 expression, TLSs formation, and positive prognosis. Finally, CXCL13 significantly increased the response to cancer immunotherapy. : CXCL13 may function as a potential biomarker for predicting prognosis and immunotherapy response and associate with TLSs in HNSCC.

Citing Articles

From heterogeneity to prognosis: understanding the complexity of tertiary lymphoid structures in tumors.

Wang Y, Zhang D, Huang X, Wu G, Wang C, Li J Mol Biol Rep. 2025; 52(1):197.

PMID: 39903372 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-025-10319-3.


B cells and tertiary lymphoid structures in tumors: immunity cycle, clinical impact, and therapeutic applications.

Wu X, Huang Q, Chen X, Zhang B, Liang J, Zhang B Theranostics. 2025; 15(2):605-631.

PMID: 39744696 PMC: 11671382. DOI: 10.7150/thno.105423.

References
1.
Bule P, Aguiar S, Aires-da-Silva F, Dias J . Chemokine-Directed Tumor Microenvironment Modulation in Cancer Immunotherapy. Int J Mol Sci. 2021; 22(18). PMC: 8464715. DOI: 10.3390/ijms22189804. View

2.
Wang Y, Yu L, Hu Z, Fang Y, Shen Y, Song M . Regulation of CCL2 by EZH2 affects tumor-associated macrophages polarization and infiltration in breast cancer. Cell Death Dis. 2022; 13(8):748. PMC: 9424193. DOI: 10.1038/s41419-022-05169-x. View

3.
Lopez-Bujanda Z, Haffner M, Chaimowitz M, Chowdhury N, Venturini N, Patel R . Castration-mediated IL-8 promotes myeloid infiltration and prostate cancer progression. Nat Cancer. 2022; 2(8):803-818. PMC: 9169571. DOI: 10.1038/s43018-021-00227-3. View

4.
Jin L, Guo Y, Mao W, Wang J, Jin L, Liu X . Total glucosides of paeony inhibit breast cancer growth by inhibiting TAMs infiltration through NF-κB/CCL2 signaling. Phytomedicine. 2022; 104:154307. DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154307. View

5.
Zhang Z, Zhu Y, Wang Z, Zhang T, Wu P, Huang J . Yin-yang effect of tumor infiltrating B cells in breast cancer: From mechanism to immunotherapy. Cancer Lett. 2017; 393:1-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2017.02.008. View