1
|
Abstract
LIM domain protein 2, also known as LIM protein FHL2, is a member of the LIM-only family. Due to its LIM domain protein characteristics, FHL2 is capable of interacting with various proteins and plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression, cell growth, and signal transduction in muscle and cardiac tissue. In recent years, mounting evidence has indicated that the FHLs protein family is closely associated with the development and occurrence of human tumors. On the one hand, FHL2 acts as a tumor suppressor by down-regulating in tumor tissue and effectively inhibiting tumor development by limiting cell proliferation. On the other hand, FHL2 serves as an oncoprotein by up-regulating in tumor tissue and binding to multiple transcription factors to suppress cell apoptosis, stimulate cell proliferation and migration, and promote tumor progression. Therefore, FHL2 is considered a double-edged sword in tumors with independent and complex functions. This article reviews the role of FHL2 in tumor occurrence and development, discusses FHL2 interaction with other proteins and transcription factors, and its involvement in multiple cell signaling pathways. Finally, the clinical significance of FHL2 as a potential target in tumor therapy is examined.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiawei Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Changsheng West Road 28, Hengyang, 421001, China
| | - Qun Zeng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Changsheng West Road 28, Hengyang, 421001, China
| | - Meihua She
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Changsheng West Road 28, Hengyang, 421001, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Patil AR, Leung MY, Roy S. Identification of Hub Genes in Different Stages of Colorectal Cancer through an Integrated Bioinformatics Approach. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:5564. [PMID: 34070979 PMCID: PMC8197092 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18115564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer that contributes to cancer-related morbidity. However, the differential expression of genes in different phases of CRC is largely unknown. Moreover, very little is known about the role of stress-survival pathways in CRC. We sought to discover the hub genes and identify their roles in several key pathways, including oxidative stress and apoptosis in the different stages of CRC. To identify the hub genes that may be involved in the different stages of CRC, gene expression datasets were obtained from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) common among the different datasets for each group were obtained using the robust rank aggregation method. Then, gene enrichment analysis was carried out with Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases. Finally, the protein-protein interaction networks were constructed using the Cytoscape software. We identified 40 hub genes and performed enrichment analysis for each group. We also used the Oncomine database to identify the DEGs related to stress-survival and apoptosis pathways involved in different stages of CRC. In conclusion, the hub genes were found to be enriched in several key pathways, including the cell cycle and p53 signaling pathway. Some of the hub genes were also reported in the stress-survival and apoptosis pathways. The hub DEGs revealed from our study may be used as biomarkers and may explain CRC development and progression mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abhijeet R. Patil
- Computational Science Program, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA; (A.R.P.); (M.-Y.L.)
| | - Ming-Ying Leung
- Computational Science Program, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA; (A.R.P.); (M.-Y.L.)
- Border Biomedical Research Center, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
| | - Sourav Roy
- Border Biomedical Research Center, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhu CC, Kang HF, Qiu JW, Qian JB, Liu HB, Zhang DM. Role of FHL2 in digestive system malignancies. Shijie Huaren Xiaohua Zazhi 2019; 27:1083-1087. [DOI: 10.11569/wcjd.v27.i17.1083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
FHL2 is a scaffold protein that regulates signal transduction and gene transcription, and it has typical structural features of FHL proteins. Each FHL protein contains four half-LIM domains, and different LIM domains can bind to different proteins, which can activate or inhibit the activities of transcription factors such as P53 and serum response factors, and then influences the development of tumors. Previous studies have found that FHL2 has a complex biological role in tumorigenesis, and may promote or suppress tumor development in different types of tumors. In this article, we review the role of FHL2 in digestive system malignancies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cui-Cui Zhu
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226000, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Hai-Feng Kang
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226000, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Jian-Wei Qiu
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226000, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Jun-Bo Qian
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226000, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Hong-Bin Liu
- Department of Pathology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226000, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Dong-Mei Zhang
- Clinical Medical Research Center, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226000, Jiangsu Province, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Van Eycke YR, Balsat C, Verset L, Debeir O, Salmon I, Decaestecker C. Segmentation of glandular epithelium in colorectal tumours to automatically compartmentalise IHC biomarker quantification: A deep learning approach. Med Image Anal 2018; 49:35-45. [PMID: 30081241 DOI: 10.1016/j.media.2018.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2017] [Revised: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a method for automatically annotating slide images from colorectal tissue samples. Our objective is to segment glandular epithelium in histological images from tissue slides submitted to different staining techniques, including usual haematoxylin-eosin (H&E) as well as immunohistochemistry (IHC). The proposed method makes use of Deep Learning and is based on a new convolutional network architecture. Our method achieves better performances than the state of the art on the H&E images of the GlaS challenge contest, whereas it uses only the haematoxylin colour channel extracted by colour deconvolution from the RGB images in order to extend its applicability to IHC. The network only needs to be fine-tuned on a small number of additional examples to be accurate on a new IHC dataset. Our approach also includes a new method of data augmentation to achieve good generalisation when working with different experimental conditions and different IHC markers. We show that our methodology enables to automate the compartmentalisation of the IHC biomarker analysis, results concurring highly with manual annotations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yves-Rémi Van Eycke
- DIAPath, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CPI 305/1, Rue Adrienne Bolland, 8, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium; Laboratories of Image, Signal processing & Acoustics, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CPI 165/57, Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 50, Brussels 1050 , Belgium.
| | - Cédric Balsat
- DIAPath, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CPI 305/1, Rue Adrienne Bolland, 8, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Laurine Verset
- Department of Pathology, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Route de Lennik 808, Brussels 1070, Belgium
| | - Olivier Debeir
- Laboratories of Image, Signal processing & Acoustics, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CPI 165/57, Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 50, Brussels 1050 , Belgium; MIP, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CPI 305/1, Rue Adrienne Bolland, 8, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Isabelle Salmon
- DIAPath, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CPI 305/1, Rue Adrienne Bolland, 8, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium; Department of Pathology, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Route de Lennik 808, Brussels 1070, Belgium
| | - Christine Decaestecker
- DIAPath, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CPI 305/1, Rue Adrienne Bolland, 8, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium; Laboratories of Image, Signal processing & Acoustics, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), CPI 165/57, Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 50, Brussels 1050 , Belgium.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Dickreuter E, Cordes N. The cancer cell adhesion resistome: mechanisms, targeting and translational approaches. Biol Chem 2017; 398:721-735. [PMID: 28002024 DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2016-0326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Cell adhesion-mediated resistance limits the success of cancer therapies and is a great obstacle to overcome in the clinic. Since the 1990s, where it became clear that adhesion of tumor cells to the extracellular matrix is an important mediator of therapy resistance, a lot of work has been conducted to understand the fundamental underlying mechanisms and two paradigms were deduced: cell adhesion-mediated radioresistance (CAM-RR) and cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR). Preclinical work has evidently demonstrated that targeting of integrins, adapter proteins and associated kinases comprising the cell adhesion resistome is a promising strategy to sensitize cancer cells to both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Moreover, the cell adhesion resistome fundamentally contributes to adaptation mechanisms induced by radiochemotherapy as well as molecular drugs to secure a balanced homeostasis of cancer cells for survival and growth. Intriguingly, this phenomenon provides a basis for synthetic lethal targeted therapies simultaneously administered to standard radiochemotherapy. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about the cell adhesion resistome and highlight targeting strategies to override CAM-RR and CAM-DR.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Nils Cordes
- , Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Verset L, Tommelein J, Decaestecker C, De Vlieghere E, Bracke M, Salmon I, De Wever O, Demetter P. ADAM-17/FHL2 colocalisation suggests interaction and role of these proteins in colorectal cancer. Tumour Biol 2017; 39:1010428317695024. [PMID: 28349819 DOI: 10.1177/1010428317695024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
FHL2 is a multifunctional scaffolding protein; its expression is associated with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer. ADAM-17 is a metalloprotease implicated in ectodomain shedding. FHL2 regulates ADAM-17 plasma membrane localisation, and FHL2 deficiency leads to decreased activity of ADAM-17 in mouse macrophages. Presence and relationship of the ADAM-17/FHL2 complex with colorectal cancer progression is unknown. We studied FHL2 and ADAM-17 expression in several colon cancer cell lines by immunocytochemistry and western blot. To highlight the interaction between both molecules, we used the Duolink® kit for proximity ligation assay on SW480 cells. We also performed proximity ligation assay on biopsies and surgical specimens of colorectal adenocarcinoma and on matched normal mucosa. Furthermore, biopsies of colorectal adenoma with matched normal mucosa were selected. For quantification, pictures of the malignant, adenomatous and normal tissues were taken. Proximity ligation assay signals were quantified. Mean numbers of proximity ligation assay signals and of proximity ligation assay signals/nucleus were calculated. All cell lines showed FHL2 immunoreactivity; strongest positivity was observed in SW480 cells. ADAM-17 was expressed in all cell lines. Proximity ligation assay signals were present in SW480 cells. Quantitative analysis revealed that the interaction between FHL2 and ADAM-17 is more frequent in malignant than in normal tissue (p = 0.005). The mean number of ADAM-17/FHL2 proximity ligation assay signals was higher in colorectal adenocarcinoma than in adenoma with low-grade dysplasia (p = 0.0004). FHL2 interacts with ADAM-17 in normal, dysplastic and malignant colon epithelial cells. Colocalisation of these proteins is more frequent in malignant than in normal and dysplastic cells, suggesting a role for ADAM-17/FHL2 complex in the development of colorectal cancer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laurine Verset
- 1 Department of Pathology, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Joke Tommelein
- 2 Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Radiation Oncology and Experimental Cancer Research, Ghent University Hospital, Gent, Belgium.,3 Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), Gent, Belgium
| | - Christine Decaestecker
- 4 Centre for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI), Digital Image Analysis in Pathology (DIAPATH), Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Elly De Vlieghere
- 2 Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Radiation Oncology and Experimental Cancer Research, Ghent University Hospital, Gent, Belgium.,3 Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), Gent, Belgium
| | - Marc Bracke
- 2 Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Radiation Oncology and Experimental Cancer Research, Ghent University Hospital, Gent, Belgium.,3 Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), Gent, Belgium
| | - Isabelle Salmon
- 1 Department of Pathology, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.,4 Centre for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI), Digital Image Analysis in Pathology (DIAPATH), Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Olivier De Wever
- 2 Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Radiation Oncology and Experimental Cancer Research, Ghent University Hospital, Gent, Belgium.,3 Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), Gent, Belgium
| | - Pieter Demetter
- 1 Department of Pathology, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Jehanno C, Flouriot G, Nicol-Benoît F, Le Page Y, Le Goff P, Michel D. Envisioning metastasis as a transdifferentiation phenomenon clarifies discordant results on cancer. Breast Dis 2017; 36:47-59. [PMID: 27177343 DOI: 10.3233/bd-150210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Cancer is generally conceived as a dedifferentiation process in which quiescent post-mitotic differentiated cells acquire stem-like properties and the capacity to proliferate. This view holds for the initial stages of carcinogenesis but is more questionable for advanced stages when the cells can transdifferentiate into the contractile phenotype associated to migration and metastasis. Singularly from this perspective, the hallmark of the most aggressive cancers would correspond to a genuine differentiation status, even if it is different from the original one. This seeming paradox could help reconciling discrepancies in the literature about the pro- or anti-tumoral functions of candidate molecules involved in cancer and whose actual effects depend on the tumoral grade. These ambiguities which are likely to concern a myriad of molecules and pathways, are illustrated here with the selected examples of chromatin epigenetics and myocardin-related transcription factors, using the human MCF10A and MCF7 breast cancer cells. Self-renewing stem like cells are characterized by a loose chromatin with low levels of the H3K9 trimetylation, but high levels of this mark can also appear in cancer cells acquiring a contractile-type differentiation state associated to metastasis. Similarly, the myocardin-related transcription factor MRTF-A is involved in metastasis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition, whereas this factor is naturally enriched in the quiescent cells which are precisely the most resistant to cancer: cardiomyocytes. These seeming paradoxes reflect the bistable epigenetic landscape of cancer in which dedifferentiated self-renewing and differentiated migrating states are incompatible at the single cell level, though coexisting at the population level.
Collapse
|
8
|
Matrix mechanics controls FHL2 movement to the nucleus to activate p21 expression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:E6813-E6822. [PMID: 27742790 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1608210113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Substrate rigidity affects many physiological processes through mechanochemical signals from focal adhesion (FA) complexes that subsequently modulate gene expression. We find that shuttling of the LIM domain (domain discovered in the proteins, Lin11, Isl-1, and Mec-3) protein four-and-a-half LIM domains 2 (FHL2) between FAs and the nucleus depends on matrix mechanics. In particular, on soft surfaces or after the loss of force, FHL2 moves from FAs into the nucleus and concentrates at RNA polymerase (Pol) II sites, where it acts as a transcriptional cofactor, causing an increase in p21 gene expression that will inhibit growth on soft surfaces. At the molecular level, shuttling requires a specific tyrosine in FHL2, as well as phosphorylation by active FA kinase (FAK). Thus, we suggest that FHL2 phosphorylation by FAK is a critical, mechanically dependent step in signaling from soft matrices to the nucleus to inhibit cell proliferation by increasing p21 expression.
Collapse
|
9
|
ter Braak B, Wink S, Koedoot E, Pont C, Siezen C, van der Laan JW, van de Water B. Alternative signaling network activation through different insulin receptor family members caused by pro-mitogenic antidiabetic insulin analogues in human mammary epithelial cells. Breast Cancer Res 2015; 17:97. [PMID: 26187749 PMCID: PMC4506606 DOI: 10.1186/s13058-015-0600-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 06/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Insulin analogues are designed to have improved pharmacokinetic parameters compared to regular human insulin. This provides a sustained control of blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. All novel insulin analogues are tested for their mitogenic side effects, however these assays do not take into account the molecular mode of action of different insulin analogues. Insulin analogues can bind the insulin receptor and the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor with different affinities and consequently will activate different downstream signaling pathways. Methods Here we used a panel of MCF7 human breast cancer cell lines that selectively express either one of the isoforms of the INSR or the IGF1R. We applied a transcriptomics approach to assess the differential transcriptional programs activated in these cells by either insulin, IGF1 or X10 treatment. Results Based on the differentially expressed genes between insulin versus IGF1 and X10 treatment, we retrieved a mitogenic classifier gene set. Validation by RT-qPCR confirmed the robustness of this gene set. The translational potential of these mitogenic classifier genes was examined in primary human mammary cells and in mammary gland tissue of mice in an in vivo model. The predictive power of the classifier genes was evaluated by testing all commercial insulin analogues in the in vitro model and defined X10 and glargine as the most potent mitogenic insulin analogues. Conclusions We propose that these mitogenic classifier genes can be used to test the mitogenic potential of novel insulin analogues as well as other alternative molecules with an anticipated affinity for the IGF1R. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13058-015-0600-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bas ter Braak
- Division of Toxicology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, Leiden, 2333 CC, The Netherlands.
| | - Steven Wink
- Division of Toxicology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, Leiden, 2333 CC, The Netherlands.
| | - Esmee Koedoot
- Division of Toxicology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, Leiden, 2333 CC, The Netherlands.
| | - Chantal Pont
- Division of Toxicology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, Leiden, 2333 CC, The Netherlands.
| | - Christine Siezen
- Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB), Graadt van Roggenweg 500, Utrecht, 3531 AH, The Netherlands.
| | - Jan Willem van der Laan
- Division of Toxicology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, Leiden, 2333 CC, The Netherlands. .,Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB), Graadt van Roggenweg 500, Utrecht, 3531 AH, The Netherlands. .,Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, Bilthoven, 3721 MA, The Netherlands.
| | - Bob van de Water
- Division of Toxicology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, Leiden, 2333 CC, The Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Microsatellite instable vs stable colon carcinomas: analysis of tumour heterogeneity, inflammation and angiogenesis. Br J Cancer 2015; 113:500-9. [PMID: 26068398 PMCID: PMC4522625 DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2015.213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 03/31/2015] [Accepted: 05/15/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Microsatellite instability (MSI) accounts for 15% of all colorectal tumours. Several specific clinicopathologicals (e.g., preference for the proximal colon over the distal colon, improved prognosis and altered response to chemotherapeutics) are described for this subset of tumours. This study aimed to analyse morphological, inflammatory and angiogenic features of MSI vs microsatellite stable (MSS) tumours. Methods: Twenty-seven MSS and 29 MSI, TNM stage matched, colorectal tumours were selected from the archive of the Department of Pathology, UZ Leuven. Morphology was analysed on haematoxylin–eosin sections. Immunohistochemistry for CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20 and CD68 was used to map tumour infiltration in both a digital and traditional microscope-based manner for all distinct morphological components of the tumour. CD31 immunostains were performed to assess angiogenesis. Results: Morphological tumour heterogeneity was a marked feature of MSI tumours, occurring in 53% of the cases as compared with 11% of the MSS tumours (P<0.001). Digital immune quantification showed an increased number of tumour-infiltrating cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CD8+) in MSI compared with MSS tumours for both the tumour (P=0.02) and peritumoural area (P=0.03). Traditional microscope-based quantification confirmed these results (P<0.001 for both) and, in addition, revealed large numbers of CD68+ macrophages in the peritumoural area of MSI cancers (P=0.001). Moreover, traditional microscope-based analysis was able to distinguish between lymphocytes directly infiltrating the tumoural glands (intra-epithelial) and those infiltrating only the neoplastic stroma around the glands (intratumoural). Quantification showed high numbers of intra-epithelial CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD20+ and CD68+ cells in MSI compared with MSS cancers (P<0.001, P=0.01, P<0.001, P<0.001 and P=0.006, respectively). Higher microvessel density (MVD) was observed in MSI tumours compared with their MSS counterpart. Conclusions: Mixed morphology, reflecting tumour heterogeneity, is an important feature of MSI tumours and may have both diagnostic and therapeutic impact. The inflammatory reaction also presented with significant differences in MSI vs MSS colorectal tumours. MSI cancers showed mainly infiltration by cytotoxic T-cells in both the tumour and the close border around the tumour, as well as increased intra-epithelial infiltration in contrast to MSS tumours. The type of immune cell and the compartment it resides in (intratumoural or intra-epithelial) depend both on MSI status and morphology. Finally, MSI tumours showed a higher angiogenic capacity represented by an increased MVD, hinting for possible therapeutic consequences.
Collapse
|
11
|
Zienert E, Eke I, Aust D, Cordes N. LIM-only protein FHL2 critically determines survival and radioresistance of pancreatic cancer cells. Cancer Lett 2015; 364:17-24. [PMID: 25917075 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2015.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2015] [Revised: 04/17/2015] [Accepted: 04/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Numerous factors determine the current poor prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). One of the greatest challenges to overcome is treatment resistance. Among a large repertoire of intrinsic resistance mechanisms, integrin-mediated cell adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) has been identified to be fundamental. Coalesced in focal adhesion complexes, integrins, receptor tyrosine kinases, protein kinases and adapter proteins mediate prosurvival signaling. Four and a half LIM domains protein 2 (FHL2) is one of these adapter proteins, which operates through protein-protein interactions and shows tumor-specific expression. Based on this, we investigated FHL2 expression in PDAC specimens and three-dimensionally grown cell lines and how FHL2 mechanistically contributes to cell survival, cell cycling and radiation resistance. PDAC exhibited a significantly increased and heterogeneous FHL2 expression. Upon FHL2 depletion, pancreatic cancer cell lines showed significantly decreased cell survival, proliferation and radioresistance as well as enhanced apoptosis and MEK/ERK signaling and cyclin D1, E, A and B1 expression were strongly induced. Targeting of FHL2 and MEK1 was similarly effective than FHL2 depletion alone, suggesting MEK1 as a downstream signaling mediator of FHL2. Taken together, our results provide evidence for the importance of the focal adhesion protein FHL2 in pancreatic cancer cell survival, proliferation and radiosensitivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Zienert
- OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Iris Eke
- OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Daniela Aust
- Institute for Pathology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Nils Cordes
- OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Institute of Radiooncology, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany; Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), 01307 Dresden, Germany; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Moles Lopez X, Barbot P, Van Eycke YR, Verset L, Trépant AL, Larbanoix L, Salmon I, Decaestecker C. Registration of whole immunohistochemical slide images: an efficient way to characterize biomarker colocalization. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2014; 22:86-99. [PMID: 25125687 DOI: 10.1136/amiajnl-2014-002710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Extracting accurate information from complex biological processes involved in diseases, such as cancers, requires the simultaneous targeting of multiple proteins and locating their respective expression in tissue samples. This information can be collected by imaging and registering adjacent sections from the same tissue sample and stained by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Registration accuracy should be on the scale of a few cells to enable protein colocalization to be assessed. METHODS We propose a simple and efficient method based on the open-source elastix framework to register virtual slides of adjacent sections from the same tissue sample. We characterize registration accuracies for different types of tissue and IHC staining. RESULTS Our results indicate that this technique is suitable for the evaluation of the colocalization of biomarkers on the scale of a few cells. We also show that using this technique in conjunction with a sequential IHC labeling and erasing technique offers improved registration accuracies. DISCUSSION Brightfield IHC enables to address the problem of large series of tissue samples, which are usually required in clinical research. However, this approach, which is simple at the tissue processing level, requires challenging image analysis processes, such as accurate registration, to view and extract the protein colocalization information. CONCLUSIONS The method proposed in this work enables accurate registration (on the scale of a few cells) of virtual slides of adjacent tissue sections on which the expression of different proteins is evidenced by standard IHC. Furthermore, combining our method with a sequential labeling and erasing technique enables cell-scale colocalization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Moles Lopez
- Laboratories of Image, Signal Processing and Acoustics, École Polytechnique de Bruxelles, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium DIAPath, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI), Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Paul Barbot
- DIAPath, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI), Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Yves-Rémi Van Eycke
- DIAPath, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI), Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Laurine Verset
- Department of Pathology, Erasme Hospital, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | | | - Lionel Larbanoix
- DIAPath, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI), Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Isabelle Salmon
- DIAPath, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI), Gosselies, Belgium Department of Pathology, Erasme Hospital, Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - Christine Decaestecker
- Laboratories of Image, Signal Processing and Acoustics, École Polytechnique de Bruxelles, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium DIAPath, Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI), Gosselies, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Xu J, Zhou J, Li MS, Ng CF, Ng YK, Lai PBS, Tsui SKW. Transcriptional regulation of the tumor suppressor FHL2 by p53 in human kidney and liver cells. PLoS One 2014; 9:e99359. [PMID: 25121502 PMCID: PMC4133229 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2013] [Accepted: 05/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Four and a Half LIM protein 2 (FHL2) is a LIM domain only protein that is able to form various protein complexes and regulate gene transcription. Recent findings showed that FHL2 is a potential tumor suppressor gene that was down-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Moreover, FHL2 can bind to and activate the TP53 promoter in hepatic cells. In this study, the activity of the two promoters of FHL2, 1a and 1b, were determined in the human embryonic kidney cell line HEK293 and the activation of these two promoters by p53 was investigated. Our results showed that the 1b promoter has a higher activity than the 1a promoter in HEK 293 cells but the 1a promoter is more responsive to the activation by p53 when compared with the 1b promoter. The regulation of FHL2 by p53 was further confirmed in liver cells by the overexpression of p53 in Hep3B cells and the knockdown of p53 in HepG2 cells. Combining promoter activity results of truncated mutants and predictions by bioinformatics tools, a putative p53 binding site was found in the exon 1a of FHL2 from +213 to +232. The binding between the p53 protein and the putative p53 binding site was then validated by the ChIP assay. Furthermore, the expression of FHL2 and TP53 were down-regulated in majority of HCC tumour samples (n = 41) and significantly correlated (P = 0.026). Finally, we found that the somatic mutation 747 (G→T), a hot spot mutation of the TP53 gene, is potentially associated with a higher expression of FHL2 in HCC tumour samples. Taken together, this is the first in-depth study about the transcriptional regulation of FHL2 by p53.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Xu
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
| | - Junwei Zhou
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
| | - Man-Shan Li
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
| | - Chor-Fung Ng
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
| | - Yuen-Keng Ng
- Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
| | - Paul Bo-San Lai
- Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
| | - Stephen Kwok-Wing Tsui
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Moles Lopez X, D'Andrea E, Barbot P, Bridoux AS, Rorive S, Salmon I, Debeir O, Decaestecker C. An automated blur detection method for histological whole slide imaging. PLoS One 2013; 8:e82710. [PMID: 24349343 PMCID: PMC3862630 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2013] [Accepted: 10/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Whole slide scanners are novel devices that enable high-resolution imaging of an entire histological slide. Furthermore, the imaging is achieved in only a few minutes, which enables image rendering of large-scale studies involving multiple immunohistochemistry biomarkers. Although whole slide imaging has improved considerably, locally poor focusing causes blurred regions of the image. These artifacts may strongly affect the quality of subsequent analyses, making a slide review process mandatory. This tedious and time-consuming task requires the scanner operator to carefully assess the virtual slide and to manually select new focus points. We propose a statistical learning method that provides early image quality feedback and automatically identifies regions of the image that require additional focus points.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xavier Moles Lopez
- Laboratories of Image, Signal processing and Acoustics (LISA), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- DIAPath - Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Etienne D'Andrea
- Laboratories of Image, Signal processing and Acoustics (LISA), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- DIAPath - Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Paul Barbot
- DIAPath - Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Anne-Sophie Bridoux
- DIAPath - Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium
| | - Sandrine Rorive
- DIAPath - Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium
- Department of Pathology - Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Isabelle Salmon
- DIAPath - Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium
- Department of Pathology - Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Olivier Debeir
- Laboratories of Image, Signal processing and Acoustics (LISA), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Christine Decaestecker
- Laboratories of Image, Signal processing and Acoustics (LISA), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- DIAPath - Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|