TY - JOUR A1 - Behr, Daniel S. A1 - Peitsch, Wiebke K. A1 - Hametner, Christian A1 - Lasitschka, Felix A1 - Houben, Roland A1 - Schönhaar, Kathrin A1 - Michel, Julia A1 - Dollt, Claudia A1 - Goebeler, Matthias A1 - Marx, Alexander A1 - Goerdt, Sergij A1 - Schmieder, Astrid T1 - Prognostic value of immune cell infiltration, tertiary lymphoid structures and PD-L1 expression in Merkel cell carcinomas JF - International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology N2 - Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive, virus-associated, neuroendocrine tumor of the skin mainly affecting immunocompromised patients. Higher intratumoral infiltration with CD3 and CD8 positive T-cells is associated with a better prognosis, highlighting the relevance of the immune system for MCC development and progression. In this study 21 primary MCCs were stained with immune cell markers including CD3, CD4, CD8, CD68, CD20, and S100. Furthermore, tumor-infiltrating neutrophils, tertiary lymphoid structures and PD-L1 expression were analyzed and correlated with overall and recurrence free survival. All MCCs were Merkel Cell Polyomavirus positive. Overall and recurrence-free survival did not correlate with intra-and peritumoral CD3 and CD8 T-cell infiltration. In addition, no significant association regarding prognosis was found for tumor-associated neutrophils, tumor-associated macrophages or PD-L1 positivity in MCCs. Interestingly, the presence of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) in the tumor microenvironment significantly correlated with recurrence-free survival (P=0.025). In addition, TLS were significantly associated with a higher CD8/CD4 ratio in the tumor periphery (P=0.032), but not in the center of the tumor (P > 0.999). These results demonstrate for the first time that TLS, easily assessed in paraffin-embedded tissue in the tumor periphery of MCCs, may be a valuable prognostic factor indicating prolonged recurrence free survival. KW - CD8(+) KW - PD-L1 KW - tertiary lymphoid structures KW - immune cell infiltration KW - polymavirus KW - survival KW - lymphocytes KW - responses KW - lung cancer KW - B-cells KW - breast cancer KW - antitumor immunity KW - T-antigens KW - Merkel cell carcinoma Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-117720 SN - 1936-2625 VL - 7 IS - 11 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wohlfarth, Carolin A1 - Schmitteckert, Stefanie A1 - Härtle, Janina D. A1 - Houghton, Lesley A. A1 - Dweep, Harsh A1 - Fortea, Marina A1 - Assadi, Ghazaleh A1 - Braun, Alexander A1 - Mederer, Tanja A1 - Pöhner, Sarina A1 - Becker, Philip P. A1 - Fischer, Christine A1 - Granzow, Martin A1 - Mönnikes, Hubert A1 - Mayer, Emeran A. A1 - Sayuk, Gregory A1 - Boeckxstaens, Guy A1 - Wouters, Mira M. A1 - Simrén, Magnus A1 - Lindberg, Greger A1 - Ohlsson, Bodil A1 - Schmidt, Peter Thelin A1 - Dlugosz, Aldona A1 - Agreus, Lars A1 - Andreasson, Anna A1 - D'Amato, Mauro A1 - Burwinkel, Barbara A1 - Bermejo, Justo Lorenzo A1 - Röth, Ralph A1 - Lasitschka, Felix A1 - Vicario, Maria A1 - Metzger, Marco A1 - Santos, Javier A1 - Rappold, Gudrun A. A1 - Martinez, Cristina A1 - Niesler, Beate T1 - miR-16 and miR-103 impact 5-HT4 receptor signalling and correlate with symptom profile in irritable bowel syndrome JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gut-brain disorder involving alterations in intestinal sensitivity and motility. Serotonin 5-HT4 receptors are promising candidates in IBS pathophysiology since they regulate gut motor function and stool consistency, and targeted 5-HT4R selective drug intervention has been proven beneficial in subgroups of patients. We identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs201253747) c.*61 T > C within the 5-HT4 receptor gene \(HTR4\) to be predominantly present in diarrhoea-IBS patients (IBS-D). It affects a binding site for the miR-16 family and miR-103/miR-107 within the isoforms \({HTR4b/i}\) and putatively impairs \(HTR4\) expression. Subsequent miRNA profiling revealed downregulation of miR-16 and miR-103 in the jejunum of IBS-D patients correlating with symptoms. \(In\) \(vitro\) assays confirmed expression regulation via three 3′UTR binding sites. The novel isoform \(HTR4b\_2\) lacking two of the three miRNA binding sites escapes miR-16/103/107 regulationin SNP carriers. We provide the first evidence that \(HTR4\) expression is fine-tuned by miRNAs, and that this regulation is impaired either by the SNP c.*61 T > C or bydiminished levels of miR-16 and miR-103 suggesting that \(HTR4\) might be involved in the development of IBS-D. KW - Medicine KW - Gene regulation KW - Irritable bowel syndrome Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-173478 VL - 7 ER -