Academic Journal
The interplay of the lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 and the soluble immune checkpoint proteins sPD-1/sPD-L1 in breast cancer: tumor-immune cross-talk.
| Τίτλος: | The interplay of the lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 and the soluble immune checkpoint proteins sPD-1/sPD-L1 in breast cancer: tumor-immune cross-talk. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | AbdelHamid SG; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt., El-Housseiny GS; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt., AbdelAziz HM; Department of Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt., Kamal AM; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. |
| Πηγή: | Bioscience reports [Biosci Rep] 2026 Oct 21; Vol. 46 (10). |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Portland Press on behalf of the Biochemical Society Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 8102797 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1573-4935 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01448463 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Biosci Rep Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: London : Portland Press on behalf of the Biochemical Society Original Publication: London : The Biochemical Society, c1981- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | RNA, Long Noncoding*/genetics , RNA, Long Noncoding*/blood , Breast Neoplasms*/genetics , Breast Neoplasms*/immunology , Breast Neoplasms*/blood , Breast Neoplasms*/pathology , Biomarkers, Tumor*/blood , Biomarkers, Tumor*/genetics , Biomarkers, Tumor*/immunology , B7-H1 Antigen*/blood , B7-H1 Antigen*/genetics , B7-H1 Antigen*/immunology , Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor*/genetics , Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor*/blood, Humans ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Tumor Escape |
| Περίληψη: | Breast cancer (BC) remains a major health issue worldwide. Immuno-oncology has recently garnered much attention with unprecedented bench-to-bedside revolutions in cancer diagnosis and treatment. The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway is an adaptive mechanism in cancer immune escape that can be regulated epigenetically via long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). In the present study, we sought to investigate the potential clinical utility of the circulating lncRNA AFAP1-AS1 and soluble immune checkpoint proteins sPD-1 and sPD-L1 as liquid biopsy biomarkers in BC patients. Serum expression levels of AFAP1-AS1 were quantified via qRT‒PCR in a cohort comprising 90 BC patients (45 metastatic and 45 nonmetastatic) and 20 healthy controls, while serum sPD-1 and sPD-L1 levels were determined by ELISA. Computational bioinformatics approaches were employed to investigate molecular interactions among AFAP1-AS1, PD-1, and PD-L1 and to assess their functional roles in oncogenesis. Serum AFAP1-AS1, sPD-1, and sPD-L1 levels exhibited significant elevation in BC patients compared with controls, with further increases observed in metastatic versus non-metastatic cases. These biomarkers demonstrated significant association with positive lymph node involvement (P < 0.05). AFAP1-AS1 showed significant correlations with sPD-1 and sPD-L1, and their molecular interactions were demonstrated through in silico predictive analyses. ROC analysis revealed robust diagnostic and prognostic discriminatory potential. In conclusion, the present study underscores the clinical potential of the circulating lncRNA AFAP1-AS1, sPD-1, and sPD-L1 as promising non-invasive biomarkers in BC and may collectively reflect a coordinated immune evasion axis. The interplay between epigenetic modifications and immune checkpoint pathways represents a novel therapeutic target for enhancing antitumor immunity and halting metastasis. (© 2026 The Author(s).) |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: biomarkers; breast cancers; large intervening non-coding RNA |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (RNA, Long Noncoding) 0 (Biomarkers, Tumor) 0 (B7-H1 Antigen) 0 (CD274 protein, human) 0 (AFAP1-AS1 long noncoding RNA, human) 0 (PDCD1 protein, human) 0 (Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260907 Date Completed: 20261005 Latest Revision: 20261009 |
| Update Code: | 20261009 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13643020 |
| DOI: | 10.1042/BSR20250198 |
| PMID: | 42704047 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1573-4935 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.1042/BSR20250198 |