Enemark Marie Hairing, Wolter Katharina, Hybel Trine Engelbrecht, Andersen Maja Dam, Sørensen Emma Frasez, Hindkaer Linnea Meier, Lauridsen Kristina Lystlund, Madsen Charlotte, Plesner Trine Lindhardt, Hamilton-Dutoit Stephen, Honoré Bent, Ludvigsen Maja
Department of Hematology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 2;14(1):29962. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-81693-4.
Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most common low-grade lymphoma. Despite its indolent nature, FL carries an inherent risk of histological transformation (HT) to a more aggressive lymphoma. Existing biomarkers are insufficient to predict HT, indicating the need for more robust biological predictors. Previously, we used mass spectrometry-based proteomics to identify differentially expressed proteins in diagnostic FLs with and without subsequent HT. This study sought to further investigate identified proteins in transformation of FL, generally acting in important cellular pathways such as (i) apoptosis (BID), (ii) cell cycle (CDC26, CDK6, SRSF1, SRSF2), (iii) GTPase signaling (IQGAP2, MEK1), (iv) cytoskeletal rearrangement and cellular migration (ACTB, CD11a, MMP9, SEPT6), and (v) immune processes (CD81, IgG, MPO, PIK3AP1). We analyzed pre-therapeutic samples from 48 FL patients, either non-transforming FL (nt-FL, n = 30) or subsequently-transforming FL (st-FL, n = 18), the latter with histologically-confirmed transformation after their initial FL diagnosis. Paired high-grade lymphomas (tFL, n = 18) from the time of transformation were also analyzed. We used immunohistochemistry and digital image analysis to quantify protein levels. In all five pathway classes, several proteins were differentially expressed between either the diagnostic nt-FL and st-FL samples, or between the paired st-FL and tFL samples (p < 0.05). Interestingly, we found correlation between expression levels of several proteins, indicating a complex involvement between several pathways. Differential expression of most proteins was also associated with shorter transformation-free survival (p < 0.05). These findings emphasize underlying differences in FL biology predictive of subsequent transformation, highlighting deregulation of important interconnected cellular pathways.
滤泡性淋巴瘤(FL)是最常见的低度恶性淋巴瘤。尽管其具有惰性,但FL存在组织学转化(HT)为侵袭性更强的淋巴瘤的内在风险。现有的生物标志物不足以预测HT,这表明需要更可靠的生物学预测指标。此前,我们利用基于质谱的蛋白质组学方法,在诊断时有无后续HT的FL中鉴定差异表达蛋白。本研究旨在进一步探究FL转化过程中鉴定出的蛋白,这些蛋白通常作用于重要的细胞通路,如(i)凋亡(BID)、(ii)细胞周期(CDC26、CDK6、SRSF1、SRSF2)、(iii)GTPase信号传导(IQGAP2、MEK1)、(iv)细胞骨架重排和细胞迁移(ACTB、CD11a、MMP9、SEPT6)以及(v)免疫过程(CD81、IgG、MPO、PIK3AP1)。我们分析了48例FL患者的治疗前样本,其中非转化性FL(nt-FL,n = 30)或后续转化性FL(st-FL,n = 18),后者在初次FL诊断后经组织学证实发生转化。还分析了转化时配对的高级别淋巴瘤(tFL,n = 18)。我们采用免疫组织化学和数字图像分析来定量蛋白水平。在所有五个通路类别中,诊断时的nt-FL和st-FL样本之间,或配对的st-FL和tFL样本之间,有几种蛋白存在差异表达(p < 0.05)。有趣的是,我们发现几种蛋白的表达水平之间存在相关性,表明多个通路之间存在复杂的相互作用。大多数蛋白的差异表达也与无转化生存期较短相关(p < 0.05)。这些发现强调了FL生物学中预测后续转化的潜在差异,突出了重要相互关联细胞通路的失调。