@article{BoschertKlenkAbtetal.2020,
  author    = {Boschert, Verena and Klenk, Nicola and Abt, Alexander and Raman, Sudha Janaki and Fischer, Markus and Brands, Roman C. and Seher, Axel and Linz, Christian and M{\"u}ller-Richter, Urs D. A. and Bischler, Thorsten and Hartmann, Stefan},
  title     = {The influence of Met receptor level on HGF-induced glycolytic reprogramming in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma},
  series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  volume    = {21},
  journal   = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  number    = {2},
  issn      = {1422-0067},
  doi       = {10.3390/ijms21020471},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235995},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is known to overexpress a variety of receptor tyrosine kinases, such as the HGF receptor Met. Like other malignancies, HNSCC involves a mutual interaction between the tumor cells and surrounding tissues and cells. We hypothesized that activation of HGF/Met signaling in HNSCC influences glucose metabolism and therefore substantially changes the tumor microenvironment. To determine the effect of HGF, we submitted three established HNSCC cell lines to mRNA sequencing. Dynamic changes in glucose metabolism were measured in real time by an extracellular flux analyzer. As expected, the cell lines exhibited different levels of Met and responded differently to HGF stimulation. As confirmed by mRNA sequencing, the level of Met expression was associated with the number of upregulated HGF-dependent genes. Overall, Met stimulation by HGF leads to increased glycolysis, presumably mediated by higher expression of three key enzymes of glycolysis. These effects appear to be stronger in Met\(^{high}\)-expressing HNSCC cells. Collectively, our data support the hypothesized role of HGF/Met signaling in metabolic reprogramming of HNSCC.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{BoschertTeuschAljasemetal.2020,
  author    = {Boschert, Verena and Teusch, Jonas and Aljasem, Anwar and Schmucker, Philipp and Klenk, Nicola and Straub, Anton and Bittrich, Max and Seher, Axel and Linz, Christian and M{\"u}ller-Richter, Urs D. A. and Hartmann, Stefan},
  title     = {HGF-induced PD-L1 expression in head and neck cancer: preclinical and clinical findings},
  series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  volume    = {21},
  journal   = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
  number    = {20},
  issn      = {1422-0067},
  doi       = {10.3390/ijms21228770},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236220},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a widespread disease with a low survival rate and a high risk of recurrence. Nowadays, immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment is approved for HNSCC as a first-line treatment in recurrent and metastatic disease. ICI treatment yields a clear survival benefit, but overall response rates are still unsatisfactory. As shown in different cancer models, hepatocyte growth factor/mesenchymal-epithelial transition (HGF/Met) signaling contributes to an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between HGF and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-L1) expression in HNSCC cell lines. The preclinical data show a robust PD-L1 induction upon HGF stimulation. Further analysis revealed that the HGF-mediated upregulation of PD-L1 is MAP kinase-dependent. We then hypothesized that serum levels of HGF and soluble programmed cell death protein 1 (sPD-L1) could be potential markers of ICI treatment failure. Thus, we determined serum levels of these proteins in 20 HNSCC patients before ICI treatment and correlated them with treatment outcomes. Importantly, the clinical data showed a positive correlation of both serum proteins (HGF and sPD-L1) in HNSCC patient's sera. Moreover, the serum concentration of sPD-L1 was significantly higher in ICI non-responsive patients. Our findings indicate a potential role for sPD-L1 as a prognostic marker for ICI treatment in HNSCC.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LinzBrandsKertelsetal.2021,
  author    = {Linz, Christian and Brands, Roman C. and Kertels, Olivia and Dierks, Alexander and Brumberg, Joachim and Gerhard-Hartmann, Elena and Hartmann, Stefan and Schirbel, Andreas and Serfling, Sebastian and Zhi, Yingjun and Buck, Andreas K. and K{\"u}bler, Alexander and Hohm, Julian and Lapa, Constantin and Kircher, Malte},
  title     = {Targeting fibroblast activation protein in newly diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity - initial experience and comparison to [\(^{18}\)F]FDG PET/CT and MRI},
  series = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging},
  volume    = {48},
  journal   = {European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging},
  number    = {12},
  issn      = {1619-7070},
  doi       = {10.1007/s00259-021-05422-z},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307246},
  pages     = {3951-3960},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Purpose While [\(^{18}\)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose ([\(^{18}\)F]FDG) is the standard for positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), diagnostic specificity is hampered by uptake in inflammatory cells such as neutrophils or macrophages. Recently, molecular imaging probes targeting fibroblast activation protein α (FAP), which is overexpressed in a variety of cancer-associated fibroblasts, have become available and might constitute a feasible alternative to FDG PET/CT. Methods Ten consecutive, treatment-na{\"i}ve patients (8 males, 2 females; mean age, 62 ± 9 years) with biopsy-proven OSCC underwent both whole-body [\(^{18}\)F]FDG and [\(^{68}\)Ga]FAPI-04 (FAP-directed) PET/CT for primary staging prior to tumor resection and cervical lymph node dissection. Detection of the primary tumor, as well as the presence and number of lymph node and distant metastases was analysed. Intensity of tracer accumulation was assessed by means of maximum (SUV\(_{max}\)) and peak (SUV\(_{peak}\) standardized uptake values. Histological work-up including immunohistochemical staining for FAP served as standard of reference. Results [\(^{18}\)F]FDG and FAP-directed PET/CT detected all primary tumors with a SUVmax of 25.5 ± 13.2 (FDG) and 20.5 ± 6.4 (FAP-directed) and a SUVpeak of 16.1 ± 10.3 ([\(^{18}\)F]FDG) and 13.8 ± 3.9 (FAP-directed), respectively. Regarding cervical lymph node metastases, FAP-directed PET/CT demonstrated comparable sensitivity (81.3\% vs. 87.5\%; P = 0.32) and specificity (93.3\% vs. 81.3\%; P = 0.16) to [\(^{18}\)F]FDG PET/CT. FAP expression on the cell surface of cancer-associated fibroblasts in both primary lesions as well as lymph nodes metastases was confirmed in all samples. Conclusion FAP-directed PET/CT in OSCC seems feasible. Future research to investigate its potential to improve patient staging is highly warranted.},
  language  = {en}
}