1
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Zhang Y, Chen F, Balic M, Creighton CJ. An essential gene signature of breast cancer metastasis reveals targetable pathways. Breast Cancer Res 2024; 26:98. [PMID: 38867323 PMCID: PMC11167932 DOI: 10.1186/s13058-024-01855-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The differential gene expression profile of metastatic versus primary breast tumors represents an avenue for discovering new or underappreciated pathways underscoring processes of metastasis. However, as tumor biopsy samples are a mixture of cancer and non-cancer cells, most differentially expressed genes in metastases would represent confounders involving sample biopsy site rather than cancer cell biology. METHODS By paired analysis, we defined a top set of differentially expressed genes in breast cancer metastasis versus primary tumors using an RNA-sequencing dataset of 152 patients from The Breast International Group Aiming to Understand the Molecular Aberrations dataset (BIG-AURORA). To filter the genes higher in metastasis for genes essential for breast cancer proliferation, we incorporated CRISPR-based data from breast cancer cell lines. RESULTS A significant fraction of genes with higher expression in metastasis versus paired primary were essential by CRISPR. These 264 genes represented an essential signature of breast cancer metastasis. In contrast, nonessential metastasis genes largely involved tumor biopsy site. The essential signature predicted breast cancer patient outcome based on primary tumor expression patterns. Pathways underlying the essential signature included proteasome degradation, the electron transport chain, oxidative phosphorylation, and cancer metabolic reprogramming. Transcription factors MYC, MAX, HDAC3, and HCFC1 each bound significant fractions of essential genes. CONCLUSIONS Associations involving the essential gene signature of breast cancer metastasis indicate true biological changes intrinsic to cancer cells, with important implications for applying existing therapies or developing alternate therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Zhang
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, MS305, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Fengju Chen
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, MS305, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Marija Balic
- Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Unit for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Chad J Creighton
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, MS305, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
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2
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Ostojić M, Đurić A, Živić K, Grahovac J. Analysis of the nischarin expression across human tumor types reveals its context-dependent role and a potential as a target for drug repurposing in oncology. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0299685. [PMID: 38781180 PMCID: PMC11115306 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Nischarin was reported to be a tumor suppressor that plays a critical role in breast cancer initiation and progression, and a positive prognostic marker in breast, ovarian and lung cancers. Our group has found that nischarin had positive prognostic value in female melanoma patients, but negative in males. This opened up a question whether nischarin has tumor type-specific and sex-dependent roles in cancer progression. In this study, we systematically examined in the public databases the prognostic value of nischarin in solid tumors, regulation of its expression and associated signaling pathways. We also tested the effects of a nischarin agonist rilmenidine on cancer cell viability in vitro. Nischarin expression was decreased in tumors compared to the respective healthy tissues, most commonly due to the deletions of the nischarin gene and promoter methylation. Unlike in healthy tissues where it was located in the cytoplasm and at the membrane, in tumor tissues nischarin could also be observed in the nuclei, implying that nuclear translocation may also account for its cancer-specific role. Surprisingly, in several cancer types high nischarin expression was a negative prognostic marker. Gene set enrichment analysis showed that in tumors in which high nischarin expression was a negative prognostic marker, signaling pathways that regulate stemness were enriched. In concordance with the findings that nischarin expression was negatively associated with pathways that control cancer growth and progression, nischarin agonist rilmenidine decreased the viability of cancer cells in vitro. Taken together, our study lays a ground for functional studies of nischarin in a context-dependent manner and, given that nischarin has several clinically approved agonists, provides rationale for their repurposing, at least in tumors in which nischarin is predicted to be a positive prognostic marker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marija Ostojić
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Ana Đurić
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Kristina Živić
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Jelena Grahovac
- Department of Experimental Oncology, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
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3
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Clarke DJB, Marino GB, Deng EZ, Xie Z, Evangelista JE, Ma'ayan A. Rummagene: massive mining of gene sets from supporting materials of biomedical research publications. Commun Biol 2024; 7:482. [PMID: 38643247 PMCID: PMC11032387 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06177-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Many biomedical research publications contain gene sets in their supporting tables, and these sets are currently not available for search and reuse. By crawling PubMed Central, the Rummagene server provides access to hundreds of thousands of such mammalian gene sets. So far, we scanned 5,448,589 articles to find 121,237 articles that contain 642,389 gene sets. These sets are served for enrichment analysis, free text, and table title search. Investigating statistical patterns within the Rummagene database, we demonstrate that Rummagene can be used for transcription factor and kinase enrichment analyses, and for gene function predictions. By combining gene set similarity with abstract similarity, Rummagene can find surprising relationships between biological processes, concepts, and named entities. Overall, Rummagene brings to surface the ability to search a massive collection of published biomedical datasets that are currently buried and inaccessible. The Rummagene web application is available at https://rummagene.com .
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J B Clarke
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Mount Sinai Center for Bioinformatics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Giacomo B Marino
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Mount Sinai Center for Bioinformatics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Eden Z Deng
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Mount Sinai Center for Bioinformatics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Zhuorui Xie
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Mount Sinai Center for Bioinformatics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - John Erol Evangelista
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Mount Sinai Center for Bioinformatics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA
| | - Avi Ma'ayan
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Mount Sinai Center for Bioinformatics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
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4
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Lin Z, Ji X, Tian N, Gan Y, Ke L. APOB is a potential prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma. Discov Oncol 2024; 15:28. [PMID: 38310202 PMCID: PMC10838261 DOI: 10.1007/s12672-024-00877-6] [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] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is significantly associated with adverse prognostic outcomes. The development and progression of different types of human tumors are significantly influenced by APOB. Nevertheless, the significance and pathomechanisms of APOB in HCC have not been conclusively determined. We assessed APOB expression levels in HCC using three publicly available databases of TIMER2.0, UALCAN and Human Protein Atlas. To identify the biological function of APOB, we conducted enrichment analysis via LinkedOmics. Moreover, UALCAN was employed to assess the relationship between APOB expression and clinicopathological features among HCC patients. Additionally, the Kaplan-Meier plotter was utilized to investigate the prognostic relevance of APOB in HCC. To explore potential regulatory ncRNAs that could bind to APOB, we utilized StarBase and GEPIA. Furthermore, the correlation between APOB expression and immune cell infiltration, as well as immune checkpoint genes, was investigated using Spearman's correlation analysis in TISIDB, GEPIA, and TIMER2.0. The findings of our investigation showed a notable decrease in the expression levels of APOB among individuals diagnosed with HCC. Moreover, a noteworthy correlation was observed between the expression of APOB and immune checkpoint genes, alongside the occurrence of immune cell infiltration. The levels of APOB expression in HCC tissues also showed correlations with various clinicopathological features. According to Cox regression analysis, decreased APOB expression emerged as a potential autonomous predictor for OS, RFS, DSS, and PFS among HCC patients. Furthermore, we identified six potential pathways associated with non-coding RNA (ncRNA) as the most promising pathway for APOB in HCC. Our results illuminate the possible involvement of APOB in HCC and offer understanding into its governing mechanisms and medical importance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhifeng Lin
- Department of Medical Record; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Major Obstetric Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Xiaohui Ji
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nana Tian
- Department of Medical Record, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yu Gan
- Department of Medical Record, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Li Ke
- Department of Medical Record; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Major Obstetric Diseases, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
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5
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Chen F, Zhang Y, Chandrashekar DS, Varambally S, Creighton CJ. Global impact of somatic structural variation on the cancer proteome. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5637. [PMID: 37704602 PMCID: PMC10499989 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41374-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Both proteome and transcriptome data can help assess the relevance of non-coding somatic mutations in cancer. Here, we combine mass spectrometry-based proteomics data with whole genome sequencing data across 1307 human tumors spanning various tissues to determine the extent somatic structural variant (SV) breakpoint patterns impact protein expression of nearby genes. We find that about 25% of the hundreds of genes with SV-associated cis-regulatory alterations at the mRNA level are similarly associated at the protein level. SVs associated with enhancer hijacking, retrotransposon translocation, altered DNA methylation, or fusion transcripts are implicated in protein over-expression. SVs combined with altered protein levels considerably extend the numbers of patients with tumors somatically altered for critical pathways. We catalog both SV breakpoint patterns involving patient survival and genes with nearby SV breakpoints associated with increased cell dependency in cancer cell lines. Pan-cancer proteogenomics identifies targetable non-coding alterations, by virtue of the associated deregulated genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengju Chen
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yiqun Zhang
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Darshan S Chandrashekar
- Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
- Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Sooryanarayana Varambally
- Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
- The Informatics Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Chad J Creighton
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
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Lin JC, Liu TP, Chen YB, Huang TS, Chen TY, Yang PM. Inhibition of CDK9 exhibits anticancer activity in hepatocellular carcinoma cells via targeting ribonucleotide reductase. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2023; 471:116568. [PMID: 37245555 DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2023.116568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) inhibitors are a novel category of anticancer treatment for cancers. However, their effects on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are rarely investigated. Human ribonucleotide reductase (RR, which consists of RRM1 and RRM2 subunits) catalyzes the conversion of ribonucleoside diphosphate into 2'-deoxyribonucleoside diphosphate to maintain the homeostasis of nucleotide pools, which play essential roles in DNA synthesis and DNA repair. In this study, we identified that CDK9 protein expression in adjacent non-tumor tissues predicted HCC patients' overall and progression-free survivals. The anticancer activity of a CDK9-selective inhibitor, LDC000067, on HCC cells was positively associated with its ability to inhibit the expression of RRM1 and RRM2. LDC000067 downregulated RRM1 and RRM2 expression through post-transcriptional pathway. Specifically, LDC000067 triggered RRM2 protein degradation via multiple pathways, including proteasome-, lysosome-, and calcium-dependent pathways. Furthermore, CDK9 positively correlates with RRM1 or RRM2 expression in HCC patients, and the expressions of these three genes were associated with the higher infiltration of immune cells in HCC. Taken together, this study identified the prognostic relevance of CDK9 in HCC and the molecular mechanism for the anticancer effect of CDK9 inhibitors on HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiunn-Chang Lin
- Department of Surgery, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan; MacKay Junior College of Medicine, Nursing, and Management, New Taipei City 11260, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City 25245, Taiwan; Liver Medical Center, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan; PhD Program for Cancer Molecular Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and Academia Sinica, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Tsang-Pai Liu
- Department of Surgery, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan; MacKay Junior College of Medicine, Nursing, and Management, New Taipei City 11260, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City 25245, Taiwan; Liver Medical Center, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan; PhD Program for Cancer Molecular Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and Academia Sinica, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Yan-Bin Chen
- Department of Surgery, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan
| | - Tun-Sung Huang
- Department of Surgery, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City 25245, Taiwan; Liver Medical Center, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan
| | - Tung-Ying Chen
- Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City 25245, Taiwan; Department of Pathology, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Ming Yang
- Liver Medical Center, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan; PhD Program for Cancer Molecular Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University and Academia Sinica, Taipei 11031, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan; TMU Research Center of Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei 11031, Taiwan; Cancer Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11696, Taiwan; TMU and Affiliated Hospitals Pancreatic Cancer Groups, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
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7
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Sicairos B, Alam S, Du Y. A comprehensive analysis of different types of databases reveals that CDH1 mRNA and E-cadherin protein are not downregulated in most carcinoma tissues and carcinoma cell lines. BMC Cancer 2023; 23:441. [PMID: 37189027 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-023-10916-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The CDH1 gene codes for the epithelial-cadherin (E-cad) protein, which is embedded in the plasma membrane of epithelial cells to form adherens junctions. E-cad is known to be essential for maintaining the integrity of epithelial tissues, and the loss of E-cad has been widely considered a hallmark of metastatic cancers enabling carcinoma cells to acquire the ability to migrate and invade nearby tissues. However, this conclusion has come under scrutiny. METHODS To assess how CDH1 and E-cad expression changes during cancer progression, we analyzed multiple large transcriptomics, proteomics, and immunohistochemistry datasets on clinical cancer samples and cancer cell lines to determine the CDH1 mRNA and E-cad protein expression profiles in tumor and normal cells. RESULTS In contrast to the textbook knowledge of the loss of E-cad during tumor progression and metastasis, the levels of CDH1 mRNA and E-cad protein are either upregulated or remain unchanged in most carcinoma cells compared to normal cells. In addition, the CDH1 mRNA upregulation occurs in the early stages of tumor development and the levels remain elevated as tumors progress to later stages across most carcinoma types. Furthermore, E-cad protein levels are not downregulated in most metastatic tumor cells compared to primary tumor cells. The CDH1 mRNA and E-cad protein levels are positively correlated, and the CDH1 mRNA levels are positively correlated to cancer patient's survival. We have discussed potential mechanisms underlying the observed expression changes in CDH1 and E-cad during tumor progression. CONCLUSIONS CDH1 mRNA and E-cadherin protein are not downregulated in most tumor tissues and cell lines derived from commonly occurring carcinomas. The role of E-cad in tumor progression and metastasis may have previously been oversimplified. CDH1 mRNA levels may serve as a reliable biomarker for the diagnosis of some tumors (such as colon and endometrial carcinomas) due to the marked upregulation of CDH1 mRNA in the early stages of tumor development of these carcinomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brihget Sicairos
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Shorna Alam
- Bentonville West High School, Centerton, AR, 72719, USA
- Present address: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Yuchun Du
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA.
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8
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Monsivais D, Parks SE, Chandrashekar DS, Varambally S, Creighton CJ. Using cancer proteomics data to identify gene candidates for therapeutic targeting. Oncotarget 2023; 14:399-412. [PMID: 37141409 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.28420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene-level associations obtained from mass-spectrometry-based cancer proteomics datasets represent a resource for identifying gene candidates for functional studies. When recently surveying proteomic correlates of tumor grade across multiple cancer types, we identified specific protein kinases having a functional impact on uterine endometrial cancer cells. This previously published study provides just one template for utilizing public molecular datasets to discover potential novel therapeutic targets and approaches for cancer patients. Proteomic profiling data combined with corresponding multi-omics data on human tumors and cell lines can be analyzed in various ways to prioritize genes of interest for interrogating biology. Across hundreds of cancer cell lines, CRISPR loss of function and drug sensitivity scoring can be readily integrated with protein data to predict any gene's functional impact before bench experiments are carried out. Public data portals make cancer proteomics data more accessible to the research community. Drug discovery platforms can screen hundreds of millions of small molecule inhibitors for those that target a gene or pathway of interest. Here, we discuss some of the available public genomic and proteomic resources while considering approaches to how these could be leveraged for molecular biology insights or drug discovery. We also demonstrate the inhibitory effect of BAY1217389, a TTK inhibitor recently tested in a Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of solid tumors, on uterine cancer cell line viability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Monsivais
- Center for Drug Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Sydney E Parks
- Center for Drug Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Cancer and Cell Biology Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Darshan S Chandrashekar
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA
- Genomic Diagnostics and Bioinformatics, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA
| | - Sooryanarayana Varambally
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA
- Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA
- The Informatics Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA
| | - Chad J Creighton
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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9
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Romano A, Rižner TL, Werner HMJ, Semczuk A, Lowy C, Schröder C, Griesbeck A, Adamski J, Fishman D, Tokarz J. Endometrial cancer diagnostic and prognostic algorithms based on proteomics, metabolomics, and clinical data: a systematic review. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1120178. [PMID: 37091170 PMCID: PMC10118013 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1120178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecological malignancy in developed countries. Over 382,000 new cases were diagnosed worldwide in 2018, and its incidence and mortality are constantly rising due to longer life expectancy and life style factors including obesity. Two major improvements are needed in the management of patients with endometrial cancer, i.e., the development of non/minimally invasive tools for diagnostics and prognostics, which are currently missing. Diagnostic tools are needed to manage the increasing number of women at risk of developing the disease. Prognostic tools are necessary to stratify patients according to their risk of recurrence pre-preoperatively, to advise and plan the most appropriate treatment and avoid over/under-treatment. Biomarkers derived from proteomics and metabolomics, especially when derived from non/minimally-invasively collected body fluids, can serve to develop such prognostic and diagnostic tools, and the purpose of the present review is to explore the current research in this topic. We first provide a brief description of the technologies, the computational pipelines for data analyses and then we provide a systematic review of all published studies using proteomics and/or metabolomics for diagnostic and prognostic biomarker discovery in endometrial cancer. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for future studies are also given.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Romano
- Department of Gynaecology, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC), Maastricht, Netherlands
- GROW – School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
- *Correspondence: Andrea Romano, ; Tea Lanišnik Rižner,
| | - Tea Lanišnik Rižner
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- *Correspondence: Andrea Romano, ; Tea Lanišnik Rižner,
| | - Henrica Maria Johanna Werner
- Department of Gynaecology, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC), Maastricht, Netherlands
- GROW – School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Andrzej Semczuk
- Department of Gynaecology, Lublin Medical University, Lublin, Poland
| | | | | | | | - Jerzy Adamski
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Dmytro Fishman
- Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Quretec Ltd., Tartu, Estonia
| | - Janina Tokarz
- Institute for Diabetes and Cancer, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany
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10
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Dodd-O J, Acevedo-Jake AM, Azizogli AR, Mulligan VK, Kumar VA. How to Design Peptides. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2597:187-216. [PMID: 36374423 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2835-5_15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Novel design of proteins to target receptors for treatment or tissue augmentation has come to the fore owing to advancements in computing power, modeling frameworks, and translational successes. Shorter proteins, or peptides, can offer combinatorial synergies with dendrimer, polymer, or other peptide carriers for enhanced local signaling, which larger proteins may sterically hinder. Here, we present a generalized method for designing a novel peptide. We first show how to create a script protocol that can be used to iteratively optimize and screen novel peptide sequences for binding a target protein. We present a step-by-step introduction to utilizing file repositories, data bases, and the Rosetta software suite. RosettaScripts, an .xml interface that allows for sequential functions to be performed, is used to order the functions for repeatable performance. These strategies may lead to more groups venturing into computational design, which may result in synergies from artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) to phage display and screening. Importantly, the beginner is expected to be able to design their first peptide ligand and begin their journey in peptide drug discovery. Generally, these peptides potentially could be used to interact with any enzyme or receptor, for example, in the study of chemokines and their interactions with glycosoaminoglycans and their receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Dodd-O
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Amanda M Acevedo-Jake
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA
| | | | | | - Vivek A Kumar
- York Center for Environmental Engineering and Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA.
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11
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Creighton CJ. Gene Expression Profiles in Cancers and Their Therapeutic Implications. Cancer J 2023; 29:9-14. [PMID: 36693152 PMCID: PMC9881750 DOI: 10.1097/ppo.0000000000000638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT The vast amount of gene expression profiling data of bulk tumors and cell lines available in the public domain represents a tremendous resource. For any major cancer type, expression data can identify molecular subtypes, predict patient outcome, identify markers of therapeutic response, determine the functional consequences of somatic mutation, and elucidate the biology of metastatic and advanced cancers. This review provides a broad overview of gene expression profiling in cancer (which may include transcriptome and proteome levels) and the types of findings made using these data. This review also provides specific examples of accessing public cancer gene expression data sets and generating unique views of the data and the resulting genes of interest. These examples involve pan-cancer molecular subtyping, metabolism-associated expression correlates of patient survival involving multiple cancer types, and gene expression correlates of chemotherapy response in breast tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad J. Creighton
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
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Creighton CJ. Clinical proteomics towards multiomics in cancer. MASS SPECTROMETRY REVIEWS 2022:e21827. [PMID: 36495097 DOI: 10.1002/mas.21827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Recent technological advancements in mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics technologies have accelerated its application to study greater and greater numbers of human tumor specimens. Over the last several years, the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium, the International Cancer Proteogenome Consortium, and others have generated MS-based proteomic profiling data combined with corresponding multiomics data on thousands of human tumors to date. Proteomic data sets in the public domain can be re-examined by other researchers with different questions in mind from what the original studies explored. In this review, we examine the increasing role of proteomics in studying cancer, along with the potential for previous studies and their associated data sets to contribute to improving the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the clinical setting. We also explore publicly available proteomics and multi-omics data from cancer cell line models to show how such data may aid in identifying therapeutic strategies for cancer subsets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad J Creighton
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
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Identifying the genes impacted by cell proliferation in proteomics and transcriptomics studies. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010604. [PMID: 36201535 PMCID: PMC9578628 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Hypothesis-free high-throughput profiling allows relative quantification of thousands of proteins or transcripts across samples and thereby identification of differentially expressed genes. It is used in many biological contexts to characterize differences between cell lines and tissues, identify drug mode of action or drivers of drug resistance, among others. Changes in gene expression can also be due to confounding factors that were not accounted for in the experimental plan, such as change in cell proliferation. We combined the analysis of 1,076 and 1,040 cell lines in five proteomics and three transcriptomics data sets to identify 157 genes that correlate with cell proliferation rates. These include actors in DNA replication and mitosis, and genes periodically expressed during the cell cycle. This signature of cell proliferation is a valuable resource when analyzing high-throughput data showing changes in proliferation across conditions. We show how to use this resource to help in interpretation of in vitro drug screens and tumor samples. It informs on differences of cell proliferation rates between conditions where such information is not directly available. The signature genes also highlight which hits in a screen may be due to proliferation changes; this can either contribute to biological interpretation or help focus on experiment-specific regulation events otherwise buried in the statistical analysis.
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SILAC kinase screen identifies potential MASTL substrates. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10568. [PMID: 35732702 PMCID: PMC9217955 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14933-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Microtubule-associated serine/threonine kinase-like (MASTL) has emerged as a critical regulator of mitosis and as a potential oncogene in a variety of cancer types. To date, Arpp-19/ENSA are the only known substrates of MASTL. However, with the roles of MASTL expanding and increased interest in development of MASTL inhibitors, it has become critical to determine if there are additional substrates and what the optimal consensus motif for MASTL is. Here we utilized a whole cell lysate in vitro kinase screen combined with stable isotope labelling of amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) to identify potential substrates and the residue preference of MASTL. Using the related AGC kinase family members AKT1/2, the kinase screen identified several known and new substrates highly enriched for the validated consensus motif of AKT. Applying this method to MASTL identified 59 phospho-sites on 67 proteins that increased in the presence of active MASTL. Subsequent in vitro kinase assays suggested that MASTL may phosphorylate hnRNPM, YB1 and TUBA1C under certain in vitro conditions. Taken together, these data suggest that MASTL may phosphorylate several additional substrates, providing insight into the ever-increasing biological functions and roles MASTL plays in driving cancer progression and therapy resistance.
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Xiao Y, Li S, Zhang M, Liu X, Ju G, Hou J. A Novel Biomarker, FKBP10, for Poor Prognosis Prediction in Patients with Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma. EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE : ECAM 2022; 2022:5490644. [PMID: 35722147 PMCID: PMC9205734 DOI: 10.1155/2022/5490644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Objective To screen genes associated with poor prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CcRCC) from the public databases HPA (Human Protein Atlas), UALCAN, and GEPIA (Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis) and to investigate the expression of FKBP10 in CcRCC and the effect on prognosis of the patients and the biological behavior of CcRCC cells. Methods The tumor tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues of 42 patients with CcRCC diagnosed and treated in our hospital were collected, and the general information of the patients was recorded. FKBP10 expression in the tissues was determined by qRT-PCR and western blot, and its relationship with general information and prognosis of patients was analyzed. Knockdown or overexpression experiments were carried out with the human proximal tubule epithelial cell line HK-2 and CcRCC cell lines Caki-1, 786-O, ACHN, and A498 to verify the relationship between FKBP10 expression and cell proliferation and adhesion ability using MTT assay and fibronectin adhesion assay, respectively. Western blot was utilized to examine the protein expression level of c-Myc, cyclin D1, and Bcl-2 in the cells. Results FKBP10 was highly expressed in CcRCC tissues and cells and was correlated with poor prognosis. In addition, FKBP10 expression was positively correlated with CcRCC tumor size and staging and negatively correlated with tumor differentiation. Moreover, knockdown of FKBP10 significantly inhibited the proliferation of CcRCC cells, notably declined the protein expression of c-Myc, cyclin D1, and Bcl-2, and promoted cell adhesion. Conclusion FKBP10 is highly expressed in CcRCC tissues and cells and is associated with poor prognosis in patients. FKBP10 participated in the occurrence and development of CcRCC by promoting cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis and adhesion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongshuang Xiao
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
| | - Shuofeng Li
- Department of Urology, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221002, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- Department of Urology, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221002, China
| | - Xin Liu
- Department of Urology, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221002, China
| | - Guanqun Ju
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
| | - Jianquan Hou
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
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16
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Expression of GOT2 Is Epigenetically Regulated by DNA Methylation and Correlates with Immune Infiltrates in Clear-Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma. Curr Issues Mol Biol 2022; 44:2472-2489. [PMID: 35735610 PMCID: PMC9222030 DOI: 10.3390/cimb44060169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (KIRC) is the most common and highly malignant pathological type of kidney cancer, characterized by a profound metabolism dysregulation. As part of aspartate biosynthesis, mitochondrial GOT2 (glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase 2) is essential for regulating cellular energy production and biosynthesis, linking multiple pathways. Nevertheless, the expression profile and prognostic significance of GOT2 in KIRC remain unclear. This study comprehensively analyzed the transcriptional levels, epigenetic regulation, correlation with immune infiltration, and prognosis of GOT2 in KIRC using rigorous bioinformatics analysis. We discovered that the expression levels of both mRNA and protein of GOT2 were remarkably decreased in KIRC tissues in comparison with normal tissues and were also significantly related to the clinical features and prognosis of KIRC. Remarkably, low GOT2 expression was positively associated with poorer overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Further analysis revealed that GOT2 downregulation is driven by DNA methylation in the promoter-related CpG islands. Finally, we also shed light on the influence of GOT2 expression in immune cell infiltration, suggesting that GOT2 may be a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic target for KIRC patients.
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Zhang Y, Chen F, Chandrashekar DS, Varambally S, Creighton CJ. Proteogenomic characterization of 2002 human cancers reveals pan-cancer molecular subtypes and associated pathways. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2669. [PMID: 35562349 PMCID: PMC9106650 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30342-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Mass-spectrometry-based proteomic data on human tumors—combined with corresponding multi-omics data—present opportunities for systematic and pan-cancer proteogenomic analyses. Here, we assemble a compendium dataset of proteomics data of 2002 primary tumors from 14 cancer types and 17 studies. Protein expression of genes broadly correlates with corresponding mRNA levels or copy number alterations (CNAs) across tumors, but with notable exceptions. Based on unsupervised clustering, tumors separate into 11 distinct proteome-based subtypes spanning multiple tissue-based cancer types. Two subtypes are enriched for brain tumors, one subtype associating with MYC, Wnt, and Hippo pathways and high CNA burden, and another subtype associating with metabolic pathways and low CNA burden. Somatic alteration of genes in a pathway associates with higher pathway activity as inferred by proteome or transcriptome data. A substantial fraction of cancers shows high MYC pathway activity without MYC copy gain but with mutations in genes with noncanonical roles in MYC. Our proteogenomics survey reveals the interplay between genome and proteome across tumor lineages. Pan-cancer proteomics analysis enables the analysis of protein expression across multiple cancer types. Here, the authors compare proteomics from 14 cancer types and show 11 distinct subtypes across multiple cancer types. Proteome data could link higher pathway activity levels with somatic alteration of specific genes in the pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Zhang
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Fengju Chen
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Darshan S Chandrashekar
- Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.,Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Sooryanarayana Varambally
- Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.,Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.,The Informatics Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Chad J Creighton
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. .,Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. .,Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. .,Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
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18
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Lin C, Ma M, Zhang Y, Li L, Long F, Xie C, Xiao H, Liu T, Tian B, Yang K, Guo Y, Chen M, Chou J, Gong N, Li X, Hu G. The N 6-methyladenosine modification of circALG1 promotes the metastasis of colorectal cancer mediated by the miR-342-5p/PGF signalling pathway. Mol Cancer 2022; 21:80. [PMID: 35305647 PMCID: PMC8933979 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-022-01560-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown that the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification enhances the binding ability of mRNAs/long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) to microRNAs (miRNAs), but the impact of this modification on the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) function of circular RNAs (circRNAs) is unclear. METHODS We used a human circRNA microarray to detect the expression profiles of circRNAs in 3 pairs of cancer and paracancerous tissues from patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and 3 pairs of peripheral blood specimens from patients with CRC and healthy individuals. The circRNAs highly expressed in both peripheral blood and tumour tissues of patients with CRC, including circALG1, were screened. A quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis of an expanded sample size was performed to detect the expression level of circALG1 in peripheral blood and tumour tissues of patients with CRC and determine its correlation with clinicopathological features, and circRNA loop-forming validation and stability assays were then conducted. Transwell assays and a nude mouse cancer metastasis model were used to study the function of circALG1 in CRC and the role of altered m6A modification levels on the regulation of circALG1 function. qRT-PCR, western blot (WB), Transwell, RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP), RNA antisense purification (RAP), and dual-luciferase reporter gene assays were performed to analyse the ceRNA mechanism of circALG1 and the effect of the m6A modification of circALG1 on the ceRNA function of this circRNA. RESULTS CircALG1 was highly expressed in both the peripheral blood and tumour tissues of patients with CRC and was closely associated with CRC metastasis. CircALG1 overexpression promoted the migration and invasion of CRC cells, and circALG1 silencing and reduction of the circALG1 m6A modification level inhibited CRC cell migration and invasion. In vivo experiments further confirmed the prometastatic role of circALG1 in CRC. Further mechanistic studies showed that circALG1 upregulated the expression of placental growth factor (PGF) by binding to miR-342-5p and that m6A modification enhanced the binding of circALG1 to miR-342-5p and promoted its ceRNA function. CONCLUSION M6A modification enhances the binding ability of circALG1 to miR-342-5p to promote the ceRNA function of circALG1, and circALG1 could be a potential therapeutic target in and a prognostic marker for CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changwei Lin
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Min Ma
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Yi Zhang
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Liang Li
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Fei Long
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Canbin Xie
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Hua Xiao
- grid.216417.70000 0001 0379 7164Department of Hepatobiliary and Intestinal Surgery, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Teng Liu
- Hunan Chest Hospital, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Buning Tian
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Kaiyan Yang
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Yihang Guo
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Miao Chen
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Jin Chou
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Ni Gong
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Xiaorong Li
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
| | - Gui Hu
- grid.431010.7Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013 China
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Chandrashekar DS, Karthikeyan SK, Korla PK, Patel H, Shovon AR, Athar M, Netto GJ, Qin ZS, Kumar S, Manne U, Creighton CJ, Varambally S. UALCAN: An update to the integrated cancer data analysis platform. Neoplasia 2022; 25:18-27. [PMID: 35078134 PMCID: PMC8788199 DOI: 10.1016/j.neo.2022.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 713] [Impact Index Per Article: 356.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Cancer genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic profiling has generated extensive data that necessitate the development of tools for its analysis and dissemination. We developed UALCAN to provide a portal for easy exploring, analyzing, and visualizing these data, allowing users to integrate the data to better understand the gene, proteins, and pathways perturbed in cancer and make discoveries. UALCAN web portal enables analyzing and delivering cancer transcriptome, proteomics, and patient survival data to the cancer research community. With data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project, UALCAN has enabled users to evaluate protein-coding gene expression and its impact on patient survival across 33 types of cancers. The web portal has been used extensively since its release and received immense popularity, underlined by its usage from cancer researchers in more than 100 countries. The present manuscript highlights the task we have undertaken and updates that we have made to UALCAN since its release in 2017. Extensive user feedback motivated us to expand the resource by including data on a) microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and promoter DNA methylation from TCGA and b) mass spectrometry-based proteomics from the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC). UALCAN provides easy access to pre-computed, tumor subgroup-based gene/protein expression, promoter DNA methylation status, and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. It also provides new visualization features to comprehend and integrate observations and aids in generating hypotheses for testing. UALCAN is accessible at http://ualcan.path.uab.edu
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Praveen Kumar Korla
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Henalben Patel
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Ahmedur Rahman Shovon
- Department of Computer science, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Mohammad Athar
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; Department of Dermatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - George J Netto
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Zhaohui S Qin
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Sidharth Kumar
- Department of Computer science, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Upender Manne
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Chad J Creighton
- Department of Medicine and Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sooryanarayana Varambally
- Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; Informatics Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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Chen F, Chandrashekar DS, Scheurer ME, Varambally S, Creighton CJ. Global molecular alterations involving recurrence or progression of pediatric brain tumors. Neoplasia 2022; 24:22-33. [PMID: 34864569 PMCID: PMC8649620 DOI: 10.1016/j.neo.2021.11.014] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We aimed to identify molecular changes in recurrent or progressive pediatric brain tumors, as compared to the corresponding initial tumors from the same patients, using genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data from a unique and large cohort of 55 patients and 63 recurrent or progressive tumors from the Children's Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium, representing various histologic types. METHODS We carried out paired analyses for each gene between recurrent/progressive and initial tumor groups, using RNA-sequencing and mass spectrometry-based proteomic data. By whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis, we also examined somatic DNA events for a set of cancer-associated genes. RESULTS Of 44 patients examined by WGS, 35 involved at least one cancer-associated gene with a somatic alteration event in a recurrent or progressive tumor that was not present in the initial tumor, including genes NF1, CDKN2A, CCND2, EGFR, and MYCN. By paired analysis, 68 mRNA transcripts were differentially expressed in recurrent/progressive tumors with p<0.001, and these genes could predict patient outcomes in an independent set of pediatric brain tumors. Gene transcript-level associations with recurrence or progression were enriched for protein-level associations. There was a significant overlap in results from pediatric brain tumors and results from adult brain tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Unsupervised analysis defined five subsets of recurrent or progressive tumors, with differences in gene expression and overall patient survival. CONCLUSIONS Our study uncovers genes showing consistent expression differences in recurrent or progressive tumors. These genes may provide molecular clues as to processes or pathways underlying more aggressive pediatric brain tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengju Chen
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Darshan S Chandrashekar
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA; Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Michael E Scheurer
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA; Texas Children's Cancer Center, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Sooryanarayana Varambally
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA; Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA; The Informatics Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Chad J Creighton
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center Division of Biostatistics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA; Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA; Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
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21
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Zhang Y, Chen F, Pleasance E, Williamson L, Grisdale CJ, Titmuss E, Laskin J, Jones SJM, Cortes-Ciriano I, Marra MA, Creighton CJ. Rearrangement-mediated cis-regulatory alterations in advanced patient tumors reveal interactions with therapy. Cell Rep 2021; 37:110023. [PMID: 34788622 PMCID: PMC8630779 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.110023] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The global impact of somatic structural variants (SVs) on gene regulation in advanced tumors with complex treatment histories has been mostly uncharacterized. Here, using whole-genome and RNA sequencing from 570 recurrent or metastatic tumors, we report the altered expression of hundreds of genes in association with nearby SV breakpoints, including oncogenes and G-protein-coupled receptor-related genes such as PLEKHG2. A significant fraction of genes with SV-expression associations correlate with worse patient survival in primary and advanced cancers, including SRD5A1. In many instances, SV-expression associations involve retrotransposons being translocated near genes. High overall SV burden is associated with treatment with DNA alkylating agents or taxanes and altered expression of metabolism-associated genes. SV-expression associations within tumors from topoisomerase I inhibitor-treated patients include chromatin-related genes. Within anthracycline-treated tumors, SV breakpoints near chromosome 1p genes include PDE4B. Patient treatment and history can help understand the widespread SV-mediated cis-regulatory alterations found in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Zhang
- Division of Biostatistics, Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Fengju Chen
- Division of Biostatistics, Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Erin Pleasance
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Laura Williamson
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Cameron J Grisdale
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Emma Titmuss
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Janessa Laskin
- Department of Medical Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Steven J M Jones
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Isidro Cortes-Ciriano
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Marco A Marra
- Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Chad J Creighton
- Division of Biostatistics, Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
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22
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Campeanu IJ, Jiang Y, Liu L, Pilecki M, Najor A, Cobani E, Manning M, Zhang XM, Yang ZQ. Multi-omics integration of methyltransferase-like protein family reveals clinical outcomes and functional signatures in human cancer. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14784. [PMID: 34285249 PMCID: PMC8292347 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94019-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Human methyltransferase-like (METTL) proteins transfer methyl groups to nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and other small molecules, subsequently playing important roles in various cellular processes. In this study, we performed integrated genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and clinicopathological analyses of 34 METTLs in a large cohort of primary tumor and cell line data. We identified a subset of METTL genes, notably METTL1, METTL7B, and NTMT1, with high frequencies of genomic amplification and/or up-regulation at both the mRNA and protein levels in a spectrum of human cancers. Higher METTL1 expression was associated with high-grade tumors and poor disease prognosis. Loss-of-function analysis in tumor cell lines indicated the biological importance of METTL1, an m7G methyltransferase, in cancer cell growth and survival. Furthermore, functional annotation and pathway analysis of METTL1-associated proteins revealed that, in addition to the METTL1 cofactor WDR4, RNA regulators and DNA packaging complexes may be functionally interconnected with METTL1 in human cancer. Finally, we generated a crystal structure model of the METTL1–WDR4 heterodimeric complex that might aid in understanding the key functional residues. Our results provide new information for further functional study of some METTL alterations in human cancer and might lead to the development of small inhibitors that target cancer-promoting METTLs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ion John Campeanu
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Yuanyuan Jiang
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Lanxin Liu
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Maksymilian Pilecki
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Alvina Najor
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Era Cobani
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Morenci Manning
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Xiaohong Mary Zhang
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.,Molecular Therapeutics Program, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R Street, HWCRC 815, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Zeng-Quan Yang
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA. .,Molecular Therapeutics Program, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R Street, HWCRC 815, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
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