Inflammation Promotes Aging‐Associated Oncogenesis in the Lung

ABSTRACT Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world. While cigarette smoking is the major preventable factor for cancers in general and lung cancer in particular, old age is also a major risk factor. Aging‐related chronic, low‐level inflammation, termed inflammaging, ha...

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Main Authors: Catherine Pham‐Danis, Shi B. Chia, Hannah A. Scarborough, Etienne Danis, Travis Nemkov, Vadym Zaberezhnyy, Jessica L. Christenson, Emily K. Kleczko, Andre Navarro, Andrew Goodspeed, Elizabeth A. Bonney, Charles A. Dinarello, Carlo Marchetti, Raphael A. Nemenoff, Kirk C. Hansen, James DeGregori
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-03-01
Series:Aging and Cancer
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/aac2.12077
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author Catherine Pham‐Danis
Shi B. Chia
Hannah A. Scarborough
Etienne Danis
Travis Nemkov
Vadym Zaberezhnyy
Jessica L. Christenson
Emily K. Kleczko
Andre Navarro
Andrew Goodspeed
Elizabeth A. Bonney
Charles A. Dinarello
Carlo Marchetti
Raphael A. Nemenoff
Kirk C. Hansen
James DeGregori
author_facet Catherine Pham‐Danis
Shi B. Chia
Hannah A. Scarborough
Etienne Danis
Travis Nemkov
Vadym Zaberezhnyy
Jessica L. Christenson
Emily K. Kleczko
Andre Navarro
Andrew Goodspeed
Elizabeth A. Bonney
Charles A. Dinarello
Carlo Marchetti
Raphael A. Nemenoff
Kirk C. Hansen
James DeGregori
author_sort Catherine Pham‐Danis
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world. While cigarette smoking is the major preventable factor for cancers in general and lung cancer in particular, old age is also a major risk factor. Aging‐related chronic, low‐level inflammation, termed inflammaging, has been widely documented; however, it remains unclear how inflammaging contributes to increased lung cancer incidence. Aim The aim of this study was to establish connections between aging‐associated changes in the lungs and cancer risk. Methods We analyzed public databases of gene expression for normal and cancerous human lungs and used mouse models to understand which changes were dependent on inflammation, as well as to assess the impact on oncogenesis. Results Analyses of GTEx and TCGA databases comparing gene expression profiles from normal lungs, lung adenocarcinoma, and lung squamous cell carcinoma of subjects across age groups revealed upregulated pathways such as inflammatory response, TNFA signaling via NFκB, and interferon‐gamma response. Similar pathways were identified comparing the gene expression profiles of young and old mouse lungs. Transgenic expression of alpha 1 antitrypsin (AAT) partially reverses increases in markers of aging‐associated inflammation and immune deregulation. Using an orthotopic model of lung cancer using cells derived from EML4‐ALK fusion‐induced adenomas, we demonstrated an increased tumor outgrowth in lungs of old mice while NLRP3 knockout in old mice decreased tumor volumes, suggesting that inflammation contributes to increased lung cancer development in aging organisms. Conclusions These studies reveal how expression of an anti‐inflammatory mediator (AAT) can reduce some but not all aging‐associated changes in mRNA and protein expression in the lungs. We further show that aging is associated with increased tumor outgrowth in the lungs, which may relate to an increased inflammatory microenvironment.
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spelling doaj-art-cc73d4276aa44ca8899b090fa4a2878d2025-08-20T02:29:04ZengWileyAging and Cancer2643-89092025-03-016131810.1002/aac2.12077Inflammation Promotes Aging‐Associated Oncogenesis in the LungCatherine Pham‐Danis0Shi B. Chia1Hannah A. Scarborough2Etienne Danis3Travis Nemkov4Vadym Zaberezhnyy5Jessica L. Christenson6Emily K. Kleczko7Andre Navarro8Andrew Goodspeed9Elizabeth A. Bonney10Charles A. Dinarello11Carlo Marchetti12Raphael A. Nemenoff13Kirk C. Hansen14James DeGregori15Department of Biochemistry and Molecular GeneticsUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAurora Colorado USADepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular GeneticsUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAurora Colorado USADepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular GeneticsUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAurora Colorado USADepartment of Biomedical InformaticsUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusUniversity of Colorado Cancer CenterAurora Colorado USADepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular GeneticsUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAurora Colorado USADepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular GeneticsUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAurora Colorado USADepartment of PathologyUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusUniversity of Colorado Cancer CenterAurora Colorado USADepartment of MedicineUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusUniversity of Colorado Cancer CenterAurora Colorado USADepartment of MedicineUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusUniversity of Colorado Cancer CenterAurora Colorado USADepartment of Biomedical InformaticsUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusUniversity of Colorado Cancer CenterAurora Colorado USADepartment of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive SciencesLarner College of Medicine, University of VermontBurlingtonVermontUSADepartment of MedicineUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusUniversity of Colorado Cancer CenterAurora Colorado USADepartment of MedicineUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusUniversity of Colorado Cancer CenterAurora Colorado USADepartment of MedicineUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusUniversity of Colorado Cancer CenterAurora Colorado USADepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular GeneticsUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAurora Colorado USADepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular GeneticsUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAurora Colorado USAABSTRACT Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world. While cigarette smoking is the major preventable factor for cancers in general and lung cancer in particular, old age is also a major risk factor. Aging‐related chronic, low‐level inflammation, termed inflammaging, has been widely documented; however, it remains unclear how inflammaging contributes to increased lung cancer incidence. Aim The aim of this study was to establish connections between aging‐associated changes in the lungs and cancer risk. Methods We analyzed public databases of gene expression for normal and cancerous human lungs and used mouse models to understand which changes were dependent on inflammation, as well as to assess the impact on oncogenesis. Results Analyses of GTEx and TCGA databases comparing gene expression profiles from normal lungs, lung adenocarcinoma, and lung squamous cell carcinoma of subjects across age groups revealed upregulated pathways such as inflammatory response, TNFA signaling via NFκB, and interferon‐gamma response. Similar pathways were identified comparing the gene expression profiles of young and old mouse lungs. Transgenic expression of alpha 1 antitrypsin (AAT) partially reverses increases in markers of aging‐associated inflammation and immune deregulation. Using an orthotopic model of lung cancer using cells derived from EML4‐ALK fusion‐induced adenomas, we demonstrated an increased tumor outgrowth in lungs of old mice while NLRP3 knockout in old mice decreased tumor volumes, suggesting that inflammation contributes to increased lung cancer development in aging organisms. Conclusions These studies reveal how expression of an anti‐inflammatory mediator (AAT) can reduce some but not all aging‐associated changes in mRNA and protein expression in the lungs. We further show that aging is associated with increased tumor outgrowth in the lungs, which may relate to an increased inflammatory microenvironment.https://doi.org/10.1002/aac2.12077aginginflammationlung cancermicroenvironmentalpha 1 antitrypsin
spellingShingle Catherine Pham‐Danis
Shi B. Chia
Hannah A. Scarborough
Etienne Danis
Travis Nemkov
Vadym Zaberezhnyy
Jessica L. Christenson
Emily K. Kleczko
Andre Navarro
Andrew Goodspeed
Elizabeth A. Bonney
Charles A. Dinarello
Carlo Marchetti
Raphael A. Nemenoff
Kirk C. Hansen
James DeGregori
Inflammation Promotes Aging‐Associated Oncogenesis in the Lung
Aging and Cancer
aging
inflammation
lung cancer
microenvironment
alpha 1 antitrypsin
title Inflammation Promotes Aging‐Associated Oncogenesis in the Lung
title_full Inflammation Promotes Aging‐Associated Oncogenesis in the Lung
title_fullStr Inflammation Promotes Aging‐Associated Oncogenesis in the Lung
title_full_unstemmed Inflammation Promotes Aging‐Associated Oncogenesis in the Lung
title_short Inflammation Promotes Aging‐Associated Oncogenesis in the Lung
title_sort inflammation promotes aging associated oncogenesis in the lung
topic aging
inflammation
lung cancer
microenvironment
alpha 1 antitrypsin
url https://doi.org/10.1002/aac2.12077
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