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Mu Z, Zhang X, Liang D, Fang J, Chen G, Guo W, Sun D, Sun Y, Kai Z, Huang L, Liang J, Lin Y. Risk stratification for radioactive iodine refractoriness using molecular alterations in distant metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer. Chin J Cancer Res 2024; 36:25-35. [PMID: 38455372 PMCID: PMC10915639 DOI: 10.21147/j.issn.1000-9604.2024.01.03] [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: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective Patients with radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAIR-DTC) are often diagnosed with delay and constrained to limited treatment options. The correlation between RAI refractoriness and the underlying genetic characteristics has not been extensively studied. Methods Adult patients with distant metastatic DTC were enrolled and assigned to undergo next-generation sequencing of a customized 26-gene panel (ThyroLead). Patients were classified into RAIR-DTC or non-RAIR groups to determine the differences in clinicopathological and molecular characteristics. Molecular risk stratification (MRS) was constructed based on the association between molecular alterations identified and RAI refractoriness, and the results were classified as high, intermediate or low MRS. Results A total of 220 patients with distant metastases were included, 63.2% of whom were identified as RAIR-DTC. Genetic alterations were identified in 90% of all the patients, with BRAF (59.7% vs. 17.3%), TERT promoter (43.9% vs. 7.4%), and TP53 mutations (11.5% vs. 3.7%) being more prevalent in the RAIR-DTC group than in the non-RAIR group, except for RET fusions (15.8% vs. 39.5%), which had the opposite pattern. BRAF and TERT promoter are independent predictors of RAIR-DTC, accounting for 67.6% of patients with RAIR-DTC. MRS was strongly associated with RAI refractoriness (P<0.001), with an odds ratio (OR) of high to low MRS of 7.52 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 3.96-14.28; P<0.001] and an OR of intermediate to low MRS of 3.20 (95% CI, 1.01-10.14; P=0.041). Conclusions Molecular alterations were associated with RAI refractoriness, with BRAF and TERT promoter mutations being the predominant contributors, followed by TP53 and DICER1 mutations. MRS might serve as a valuable tool for both prognosticating clinical outcomes and directing precision-based therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuanzhuan Mu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & PUMC, Beijing 100730, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy in Nuclear Medicine, Beijing 100730, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & PUMC, Beijing 100730, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy in Nuclear Medicine, Beijing 100730, China
| | - Dongquan Liang
- Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Los Angeles 90045, USA
| | - Jugao Fang
- Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Affiliated Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100730, China
| | - Ge Chen
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & PUMC, Beijing 100730, China
| | - Wenting Guo
- Central Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & PUMC, Beijing 100730, China
| | - Di Sun
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & PUMC, Beijing 100730, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy in Nuclear Medicine, Beijing 100730, China
| | - Yuqing Sun
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & PUMC, Beijing 100730, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy in Nuclear Medicine, Beijing 100730, China
| | - Zhentian Kai
- Department of Bioinformatics, Zhejiang Shaoxing Topgen Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd, Shanghai 201321, China
| | - Lisha Huang
- Department of Medicine, Zhejiang Shaoxing Topgen Biomedical Technology Co., Ltd, Shanghai 201321, China
| | - Jun Liang
- Department of Oncology, Peking University International Hospital, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Yansong Lin
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & PUMC, Beijing 100730, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Targeted Diagnosis and Therapy in Nuclear Medicine, Beijing 100730, China
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Liu M, Zhang Y, Jian Y, Gu L, Zhang D, Zhou H, Wang Y, Xu ZX. The regulations of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) in cancer. Cell Death Dis 2024; 15:90. [PMID: 38278800 PMCID: PMC10817947 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-024-06454-7] [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: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
Abnormal activation of telomerase occurs in most cancer types, which facilitates escaping from cell senescence. As the key component of telomerase, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is regulated by various regulation pathways. TERT gene changing in its promoter and phosphorylation respectively leads to TERT ectopic expression at the transcription and protein levels. The co-interacting factors play an important role in the regulation of TERT in different cancer types. In this review, we focus on the regulators of TERT and these downstream functions in cancer regulation. Determining the specific regulatory mechanism will help to facilitate the development of a cancer treatment strategy that targets telomerase and cancer cell senescence. As the most important catalytic subunit component of telomerase, TERT is rapidly regulated by transcriptional factors and PTM-related activation. These changes directly influence TERT-related telomere maintenance by regulating telomerase activity in telomerase-positive cancer cells, telomerase assembly with telomere-binding proteins, and recruiting telomerase to the telomere. Besides, there are also non-canonical functions that are influenced by TERT, including the basic biological functions of cancer cells, such as proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle regulation, initiating cell formation, EMT, and cell invasion. Other downstream effects are the results of the influence of transcriptional factors by TERT. Currently, some small molecular inhibitors of TERT and TERT vaccine are under research as a clinical therapeutic target. Purposeful work is in progress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingdi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Yuning Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Yongping Jian
- Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Liting Gu
- Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Dan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Honglan Zhou
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China.
| | - Yishu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China.
| | - Zhi-Xiang Xu
- Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China.
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China.
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Magalhães MCSV, Felix FA, Guimarães LM, Dos Santos JN, de Marco LA, Gomez RS, Gomes CC, de Sousa SF. Interrogation of TERT promoter hotspot mutations in ameloblastoma and ameloblastic carcinoma. J Oral Pathol Med 2023; 52:271-275. [PMID: 36169975 DOI: 10.1111/jop.13364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND TERT promoter mutations increase telomerase activity, conferring cell immortality. The coexistence of TERT promoter mutations with BRAFV600E is associated with aggressiveness. Ameloblastoma and ameloblastic carcinoma are infiltrative neoplasms that harbor BRAFV600E; however, it remains unknown if these odontogenic tumors also show TERT promoter mutations. METHODS Genomic DNA of paraffin-embedded ameloblastomas (n = 6) and ameloblastic carcinomas (n = 3) were Sanger-sequenced to assess the hotspot TERT promoter mutations C228T and C250T. BRAFV600E status was screened by TaqMan allele-specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS None of the samples harbored TERT promoter mutations. The BRAFV600E mutation was positive in 3 of 6 of ameloblastomas and in 1 of 3 of ameloblastic carcinomas. CONCLUSION The absence of TERT promoter mutation in the samples indicates that this molecular event is not relevant to the tumors' pathogenesis. Further studies are necessary to explore undefined genetic or epigenetic mechanisms related to TERT-upregulation in ameloblastoma, and the telomerase activity in ameloblastic carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fernanda Aragão Felix
- Department of Oral Surgery and Pathology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Letícia Martins Guimarães
- Department of Pathology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Jean Nunes Dos Santos
- Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Salvador, Brazil
| | - Luiz Armando de Marco
- Department of Surgery, Medical School, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Santiago Gomez
- Department of Oral Surgery and Pathology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Carolina Cavaliéri Gomes
- Department of Pathology, Biological Sciences Institute, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Sílvia Ferreira de Sousa
- Department of Oral Surgery and Pathology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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Ma J, Sui F, Liu Y, Yuan M, Dang H, Liu R, Shi B, Hou P. Sorafenib decreases glycemia by impairing hepatic glucose metabolism. Endocrine 2022; 78:446-457. [PMID: 36205915 DOI: 10.1007/s12020-022-03202-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Sorafenib has been reported to reduce blood glucose levels in diabetic and non-diabetic patients in previous retrospective studies. However, the mechanism of which the hypoglycemic effects of sorafenib is not clearly explored. In this study, we investigated the effect of sorafenib on blood glucose levels in diabetic and normal mice and explored the possible mechanism. METHODS We established a mouse model of type 2 diabetes by a high-fat diet combined with a low-dose of streptozotocin (STZ), to identify the hypoglycemic effect of sorafenib in different mice. Glucose tolerance, insulin tolerance and pyruvate tolerance tests were done after daily gavage with sorafenib to diabetic and control mice. To explore the molecular mechanism by which sorafenib regulates blood glucose levels, hepatic glucose metabolism signaling was studied by a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments. RESULTS Sorafenib reduced blood glucose levels in both control and diabetic mice, particularly in the latter. The diabetic mice exhibited improved glucose and insulin tolerance after sorafenib treatment. Further studies showed that the expressions of gluconeogenesis-related enzymes, such as PCK1, G6PC and PCB, were significantly decreased upon sorafenib treatment. Mechanistically, sorafenib downregulates the expression of c-MYC downstream targets PCK1, G6PC and PCB through blocking the ERK/c-MYC signaling pathway, thereby playing its hypoglycemic effect by impairing hepatic glucose metabolism. CONCLUSION Sorafenib reduces blood glucose levels through downregulating gluconeogenic genes, especially in diabetic mice, suggesting the patients with T2DM when treated with sorafenib need more emphasis in monitoring blood glucose to avoid unnecessary hypoglycemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Ma
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710061, Xi'an, P.R. China
| | - Fang Sui
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710061, Xi'an, P.R. China
| | - Yan Liu
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710061, Xi'an, P.R. China
| | - Mengmeng Yuan
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710061, Xi'an, P.R. China
| | - Hui Dang
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710061, Xi'an, P.R. China
| | - Rui Liu
- Department of Radio-Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710061, Xi'an, P.R. China
| | - Bingyin Shi
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710061, Xi'an, P.R. China
| | - Peng Hou
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710061, Xi'an, P.R. China.
- Key Laboratory for Tumor Precision Medicine of Shaanxi Province and Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710061, Xi'an, P.R. China.
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Rachakonda S, Hoheisel JD, Kumar R. Occurrence, functionality and abundance of the TERT promoter mutations. Int J Cancer 2021; 149:1852-1862. [PMID: 34313327 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.33750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Telomere shortening at chromosomal ends due to the constraints of the DNA replication process acts as a tumor suppressor by restricting the replicative potential in primary cells. Cancers evade that limitation primarily through the reactivation of telomerase via different mechanisms. Mutations within the promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene represent a definite mechanism for the ribonucleic enzyme regeneration predominantly in cancers that arise from tissues with low rates of self-renewal. The promoter mutations cause a moderate increase in TERT transcription and consequent telomerase upregulation to the levels sufficient to delay replicative senescence but not prevent bulk telomere shortening and genomic instability. Since the discovery, a staggering number of studies have resolved the discrete aspects, effects and clinical relevance of the TERT promoter mutations. The promoter mutations link transcription of TERT with oncogenic pathways, associate with markers of poor outcome and define patients with reduced survivals in several cancers. In this review, we discuss the occurrence and impact of the promoter mutations and highlight the mechanism of TERT activation. We further deliberate on the foundational question of the abundance of the TERT promoter mutations and a general dearth of functional mutations within noncoding sequences, as evident from pan-cancer analysis of the whole-genomes. We posit that the favorable genomic constellation within the TERT promoter may be less than a common occurrence in other noncoding functional elements. Besides, the evolutionary constraints limit the functional fraction within the human genome, hence the lack of abundant mutations outside the coding sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jörg D Hoheisel
- Division of Functional Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rajiv Kumar
- Division of Functional Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,Department of Molecular Biology of Cancer, Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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Synergistic activation of mutant TERT promoter by Sp1 and GABPA in BRAF V600E-driven human cancers. NPJ Precis Oncol 2021; 5:3. [PMID: 33483600 PMCID: PMC7822828 DOI: 10.1038/s41698-020-00140-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The activating TERT promoter mutations and BRAFV600E mutation are well-established oncogenic alterations in human cancers. Coexistence of BRAFV600E and TERT promoter mutations is frequently found in multiple cancer types, and is strongly associated with poor patient prognosis. Although the BRAFV600E-elicited activation of ERK has been demonstrated to contribute to TERT reactivation by maintaining an active chromatin state, it still remains to be addressed how activated ERK is selectively recruited to mutant TERT promoter. Here, we report that transcription factor GABPA mediates the regulation of BRAFV600E/MAPK signaling on TERT reactivation by selectively recruiting activated ERK to mutant TERT promoter, where activated ERK can phosphorylate Sp1, thereby resulting in HDAC1 dissociation and an active chromatin state. Meanwhile, phosphorylated Sp1 further enhances the binding of GABPA to mutant TERT promoter. Taken together, our data indicate that GABPA and Sp1 synergistically activate mutant TERT promoter, contributing to tumorigenesis and cancer progression, particularly in the BRAFV600E-driven human cancers. Thus, our findings identify a direct mechanism that bridges two frequent oncogenic alterations together in TERT reactivation.
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