Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University & Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, China.
Clinical and Translational Research Center, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University & Department of Oncology, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.
Front Immunol. 2024 Oct 18;15:1487447. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1487447. eCollection 2024.
Breast cancer (BC) remains a significant health issue globally and most common cause of mortality in women. Enhancing our understanding on biomarkers may greatly improve both diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to this disease.
We retrospectively assessed tumor samples from 228 BC cases and 51 normal samples, alongside relevant clinical data. Neuronal vesicle trafficking associated 2(NSG2) expression was evaluated through bioinformatics and multiplex immunohistochemistry. Associations between NSG2 expression, tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs), immune checkpoints, and clinical outcomes were investigated.
NSG2 was present in both breast cancer cells and adjacent stromal cells. Increased NSG2 expression in cancer cells correlated with greater tumor size, distant metastasis, and more advanced clinical stages. Kaplan-Meier survival and multivariate analyses identified NSG2 expression in both cancer and stromal cells as an independent prognostic factor for breast cancer survival. Elevated NSG2 levels both in cancer and stroma cells were linked to increased CD4+ T, CD8+ T, and Lamp3+ dendritic cells infiltration in stromal regions ( < 0.05). Conversely, the expression of NSG2 in the stroma was negatively correlated with CD20+ B cells ( < 0.05). Additionally, NSG2 expression was found to be associated with CTLA-4 levels ( < 0.05).
NSG2 seems to be a significant component of the BC immune microenvironment and may serve as an important prognostic marker.
乳腺癌（BC）仍然是一个全球性的重大健康问题，也是女性死亡的主要原因。深入了解生物标志物可能会极大地改善对这种疾病的诊断和治疗方法。
我们回顾性评估了 228 例 BC 病例和 51 例正常样本的肿瘤样本，以及相关的临床数据。通过生物信息学和多重免疫组化评估神经元囊泡转运相关 2（NSG2）的表达。研究了 NSG2 表达与肿瘤浸润免疫细胞（TIICs）、免疫检查点和临床结局之间的关系。
NSG2 存在于乳腺癌细胞和相邻的基质细胞中。癌细胞中 NSG2 表达的增加与肿瘤体积增大、远处转移和更晚期的临床分期相关。Kaplan-Meier 生存和多变量分析确定了癌细胞和基质细胞中 NSG2 表达均为乳腺癌生存的独立预后因素。癌细胞和基质细胞中 NSG2 水平的升高与基质区域中 CD4+T、CD8+T 和 Lamp3+树突状细胞浸润的增加有关（<0.05）。相反，基质中 NSG2 的表达与 CD20+B 细胞呈负相关（<0.05）。此外，还发现 NSG2 表达与 CTLA-4 水平相关（<0.05）。
NSG2 似乎是 BC 免疫微环境的重要组成部分，可能是一个重要的预后标志物。
