ArticleJournal of ovarian research2023
The stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, cancer stemness, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and B7-H4 expression in ovarian serous carcinoma.
Article in Journal of ovarian research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cancer stem cell plasticity: mechanisms, immune microenvironment crosstalk, and therapeutic implications.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2026Review
- B7-H4: a multifaceted immune checkpoint and oncoprotein in cancer biology and immunotherapy.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Clinical Significance of B7-H4 in Peripheral Blood of Patients With Myasthenia Gravis.Journal of immunology research · 2026Article
- sB7-H4 is a diagnostic biomarker in epithelial ovarian cancer and correlates to platinum resistance.Clinical and experimental immunology · 2025Article
- Secretome Analysis Using Affinity Proteomics and Immunoassays: A Focus on Tumor Biology.Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP · 2024Review
- B7H4 Role in Solid Cancers: A Review of the Literature.Cancers · 2024Review
- Bridging the divide: unveiling mutual immunological pathways of cancer and pregnancy.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2024Review
- The role of B7-H4 in ovarian cancer immunotherapy: current status, challenges, and perspectives.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundB7-H4 is expressed in various types of cancers and its expression inversely correlates with the degree of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Studies have shown the relationship between B7-H4, cancer stem cell (CSC) properties, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in various cancers. However, very few studies have investigated the relationship between B7-H4, TILs, cancer stemness, and EMT in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The present study aimed to elucidate whether B7-H4 is involved in immune evasion and examine whether B7-H4 is associated with cancer stemness or EMT in ovarian serous carcinoma, the most common type of EOC. The clinical significance of B7-H4 was also investigated to evaluate its potential as a therapeutic target.
methodsA total of 145 patients included in this study. The degree of stromal TILs was evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained slides. Immunohistochemical analysis of B7-H4, CSC-related biomarkers (CD24, CD44s, CD133, and ALDH1), and EMT-related biomarkers (E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin) was performed using tissue microarray. qRT-PCR for VTCN1, CD24, CD44, PROM1, ALDH1, CDH1, CDH2, and VIM genes was performed on 38 frozen tissue samples. The mRNA expression levels were analyzed using Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) online analysis tool.
resultsB7-H4 protein expression positively correlated with the degree of stromal TILs. CD24, CD44s, and CD133 expression showed a positive correlation with B7-H4 expression at both the protein and mRNA levels, but ALDH1 correlated only at the protein level. E-cadherin expression was positively correlated with B7-H4 expression at both the protein and mRNA levels. N-cadherin and vimentin expression was inversely related to B7-H4 expression only at the mRNA level. B7-H4 positive patients were associated with higher tumor grade and lower overall survival rate than B7-H4 negative patients, especially in ovarian serous carcinoma with low stromal TILs.
conclusionsThe present study demonstrates that B7-H4 may not be involved in the immune evasion mechanism, but is involved in cancer stemness and mesenchymal-epithelial transition. In addition, B7-H4 may be a therapeutic target for the treatment of ovarian serous carcinoma, especially with low stromal TILs.
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