Upregulation of the NLRC4 inflammasome contributes to poor prognosis in glioma patients

Sci Rep. 2019 May 27;9(1):7895. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-44261-9.

Abstract

Inflammation in tumor microenvironments is implicated in the pathogenesis of tumor development. In particular, inflammasomes, which modulate innate immune functions, are linked to tumor growth and anticancer responses. However, the role of the NLRC4 inflammasome in gliomas remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether the upregulation of the NLRC4 inflammasome is associated with the clinical prognosis of gliomas. We analyzed the protein expression and localization of NLRC4 in glioma tissues from 11 patients by immunohistochemistry. We examined the interaction between the expression of NLRC4 and clinical prognosis via a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The level of NLRC4 protein was increased in brain tissues, specifically, in astrocytes, from glioma patients. NLRC4 expression was associated with a poor prognosis in glioma patients, and the upregulation of NLRC4 in astrocytomas was associated with poor survival. Furthermore, hierarchical clustering of data from the Cancer Genome Atlas dataset showed that NLRC4 was highly expressed in gliomas relative to that in a normal healthy group. Our results suggest that the upregulation of the NLRC4 inflammasome contributes to a poor prognosis for gliomas and presents a potential therapeutic target and diagnostic marker.

Publication types

  • Observational Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / analysis
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism*
  • Brain / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain / immunology
  • Brain / pathology
  • Brain / surgery
  • Brain Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Brain Neoplasms / genetics
  • Brain Neoplasms / immunology
  • Brain Neoplasms / mortality*
  • CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins / analysis
  • CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins / metabolism*
  • Calcium-Binding Proteins / analysis
  • Calcium-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Child
  • Datasets as Topic
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / immunology*
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Glioma / diagnosis
  • Glioma / genetics
  • Glioma / immunology
  • Glioma / mortality*
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Inflammasomes / immunology*
  • Inflammasomes / metabolism
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prognosis
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Transcriptome / genetics
  • Tumor Microenvironment / genetics
  • Tumor Microenvironment / immunology
  • Up-Regulation

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins
  • Calcium-Binding Proteins
  • Inflammasomes
  • NLRC4 protein, human