Biology subjects

Benitez, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Benitez, R..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Nerve growth factor receptor identifies a basal subpopulation linked to poor prognosis and reduced immunotherapy responses in bladder cancer

PurposeBladder cancer (BLCA) is a heterogeneous tumor type. Only one third of muscle-invasive (MIBC) patients respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Reliable resistance markers are needed to guide clinical decisions. We investigated the nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) in BLCA and analyzed its correlation with disease progression and response to immunotherapy. Experimental DesignWe analyzed NGFR expression in BLCA cell lines, organoids, mouse models and patient samples. The cohorts used were The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), enriched in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) (n=407); IMvigor210, representing MIBC patients treated with ICIs (n=348); and UROMOL2, as a non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC)-specific cohort (n=535). IMvigor010 was also included (n=728). Patients were stratified by NGFR expression quartiles. We analyzed survival and tumor subtypes and performed stromal deconvolution and functional profiling. We assessed stemness- and invasion-related features in SCaBER cells. ResultsNGFR marks a basal tumor cell subcluster and is independently associated with poor prognosis in TCGA and IMvigor210. NGFR-high tumors show stromal content enriched in cancer-associated fibroblasts, lower neoantigen burden, higher CD8+ T effector signature together with an immune-excluded phenotype, and a CAF-specific TGF{beta} signature. In the immunotherapy-treated cohort, high NGFR expression was also associated with poorer outcome. Functionally, NGFR appears to promote a stem-like/pro-invasive program in BLCA cells. ConclusionsNGFR identifies a basal-like BLCA subpopulation linked to poor survival, while its association with immunotherapy response requires further validation. In addition, our in vitro analyses support a role of NGFR in stem-like and invasive traits, highlighting its relevance as a biomarker in BLCA.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Myocardin-related transcription factor drives epithelial fibrogenesis in polycystic kidney disease

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is characterized by extensive cyst formation and progressive fibrosis. However, the molecular mechanisms whereby the loss/loss-of-function of Polycystin 1 or 2 (PC1/2) provokes fibrosis are largely unknown. The small GTPase RhoA has been recently implicated in cystogenesis, and we have shown that the RhoA/cytoskeleton/myocardin-related transcription factor (MRTF) pathway is a key mediator of epithelium-induced fibrogenesis. Therefore, we hypothesized that MRTF is activated by PC1/2 loss and plays a critical role in fibrogenic reprogramming of the epithelium. Loss of PC1 or PC2 induced by siRNA in vitro activated RhoA, caused cytoskeletal remodeling and robust nuclear MRTF translocation and overexpression. These phenomena were also manifest in PKD1 (RC/RC) and PKD2 (WS25/-) mice, with MRTF translocation and overexpression occurring predominantly in dilated tubules and in cyst-lining epithelium, respectively. In epithelial cells, a large cohort of PC1/PC2 downregulation-induced genes was MRTF-dependent, including cytoskeletal, integrin-related, and matricellular/fibrogenic proteins. Epithelial MRTF was necessary for paracrine priming of fibroblast-myofibroblast transition. Thus, MRTF is a critical novel mediator of the PC1/2 loss-induced profibrotic epithelial phenotype, and consequently PKD-related fibrosis.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Immunohistochemistry-based taxonomical classification of bladder cancer predicts response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Platinum-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) increases the survival of patients with organ-confined urothelial bladder cancer (UBC). Because not all patients benefit from treatment, NAC has not been widely applied in the clinical setting. There is strong evidence, based on retrospective studies, that patients with Basal/Squamous (BASQ)-like tumours present with more advanced disease and have worse prognosis; global transcriptomics can identify tumour subtypes associated with response to NAC. We aimed to investigate whether tumour immunohistochemical (IHC) subtyping predicts NAC response. Patients with muscle-invasive UBC having received platinum-based NAC were identified in two hospitals in Spain. Tissue microarrays were constructed; RNA and DNA were extracted from full sections. Nanostring analysis and immunohistochemistry to identify BASQ-like tumours and mutational analysis of UBC oncogenes. We used hierarchical clustering to classify 126 tumours and adjusted logistic regression to assess association with treatment response. Outcomes were progression-free survival and disease-specific survival; univariable and multivariate Cox regression models were applied. We found very high concordance between mRNA and protein for the 4 markers analyzed. We identified three main subgroups: BASQ-like (FOXA1/GATA3 low; KRT5/6/14 high), Luminal-like (FOXA1/GATA3 high; KRT5/6/14 low), and mixed-cluster (FOXA1/GATA3 high; KRT5/6 high; KRT14 low). Patients with BASQ-like tumours were more likely to achieve a pathological response to NAC, displaying a disease-specific survival similar to that of the remaining patients. In conclusion, patients with BASQ-like tumours - identified through simple and robust immunohistochemistry - have a higher likelihood of undergoing a pathological complete response to NAC. Prospective validation in independent series is required.\n\nNovelty and impactNeoadjuvant chemotherapy is an important component of the management of patietns with muscle-invasive bladder cancer but improved stratification is necessary. This retrospective study shows that patients with BASQ-like tumors can be identified using immunohistochemistry on paraffin-embedded tissue and are 4-fold more likely to achieve a pathological complete response to platinum-based NAC. The disease-specific survival of patients with BASQ-like tumours treated with NAC was not different from that of other tumour subtypes.

pathology↗