Proteomics study of primary and recurrent adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas

Background: Adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas (ACPs) are rare benign epithelial tumours with high recurrence and poor prognosis. Biological differences between recurrent and primary ACPs that may be associated with disease recurrence and treatment have yet to be evaluated at the proteomic level. In this study, we aimed to determine the proteomic profiles of paired recurrent and primary ACP, gain biological insight into ACP recurrence, and identify potential targets for ACP treatment.

Method: Patients with ACP (n = 15) or Rathke's cleft cyst (RCC; n = 7) who underwent surgery at Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China and received pathological confirmation of ACP or RCC were enrolled in this study. We conducted a proteomic analysis to investigate the characteristics of primary ACP, paired recurrent ACP, and RCC. Western blotting was used to validate our proteomic results and assess the expression of key tumour-associated proteins in recurrent and primary ACPs. Flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the exhaustion of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in primary and recurrent ACP tissue samples. Immunohistochemical staining for CD3 and PD-L1 was conducted to determine differences in T-cell infiltration and the expression of immunosuppressive molecules between paired primary and recurrent ACP samples.

Results: The bioinformatics analysis showed that proteins differentially expressed between recurrent and primary ACPs were significantly associated with extracellular matrix organisation and interleukin signalling. Cathepsin K, which was upregulated in recurrent ACP compared with that in primary ACP, may play a role in ACP recurrence. High infiltration of T cells and exhaustion of TILs were revealed by the flow cytometry analysis of ACP.

Conclusions: This study provides a preliminary description of the proteomic differences between primary ACP, recurrent ACP, and RCC. Our findings serve as a resource for craniopharyngioma researchers and may ultimately expand existing knowledge of recurrent ACP and benefit clinical practice.