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Liu N, Wang A, Xue M, Zhu X, Liu Y, Chen M. FOXA1 and FOXA2: the regulatory mechanisms and therapeutic implications in cancer. Cell Death Discov 2024; 10:172. [PMID: 38605023 PMCID: PMC11009302 DOI: 10.1038/s41420-024-01936-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2024] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
FOXA1 (Forkhead Box A1) and FOXA2 (Forkhead Box A2) serve as pioneering transcription factors that build gene expression capacity and play a central role in biological processes, including organogenesis and differentiation, glycolipid metabolism, proliferation, migration and invasion, and drug resistance. Notably, FOXA1 and FOXA2 may exert antagonistic, synergistic, or complementary effects in the aforementioned biological processes. This article focuses on the molecular mechanisms and clinical relevance of FOXA1 and FOXA2 in steroid hormone-induced malignancies and highlights potential strategies for targeting FOXA1 and FOXA2 for cancer therapy. Furthermore, the article describes the prospect of targeting upstream regulators of FOXA1/FOXA2 to regulate its expression for cancer therapy because of the drug untargetability of FOXA1/FOXA2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Liu
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Affiliated Kunshan Hospital of Jiangsu University, Kunshan, China.
| | - Anran Wang
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University, The First People's Hospital of Kunshan, Suzhou, 215300, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Mengen Xue
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University, The First People's Hospital of Kunshan, Suzhou, 215300, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Xiaoren Zhu
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Affiliated Kunshan Hospital of Jiangsu University, Kunshan, China
| | - Yang Liu
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Minbin Chen
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University, The First People's Hospital of Kunshan, Suzhou, 215300, Jiangsu Province, China.
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2
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Liu Y, Yu K, Kong X, Zhang K, Wang L, Zhang N, Chen Q, Niu M, Li W, Zhong X, Wu S, Zhang J, Liu Y. FOXA1 O-GlcNAcylation-mediated transcriptional switch governs metastasis capacity in breast cancer. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg7112. [PMID: 37595040 PMCID: PMC10438466 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg7112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
FOXA1, a transcription factor involved in epigenetic reprogramming, is crucial for breast cancer progression. However, the mechanisms by which FOXA1 achieves its oncogenic functions remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine modification (O-GlcNAcylation) of FOXA1 promotes breast cancer metastasis by orchestrating the transcription of numerous metastasis regulators. O-GlcNAcylation at Thr432, Ser441, and Ser443 regulates the stability of FOXA1 and promotes its assembly with chromatin. O-GlcNAcylation shapes the FOXA1 interactome, especially triggering the recruitment of the transcriptional repressor methyl-CpG binding protein 2 and consequently stimulating FOXA1 chromatin-binding sites to switch to chromatin loci of adhesion-related genes, including EPB41L3 and COL9A2. Site-specific depletion of O-GlcNAcylation on FOXA1 affects the expression of various downstream genes and thus inhibits breast cancer proliferation and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. Our data establish the importance of aberrant FOXA1 O-GlcNAcylation in breast cancer progression and indicate that targeting O-GlcNAcylation is a therapeutic strategy for metastatic breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajie Liu
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Panjin, China
| | - Kairan Yu
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Panjin, China
| | - Xiaotian Kong
- Faculty of Environment and Life, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
- Beijing International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for Intelligent Physiological Measurement and Clinical Transformation, Beijing, China
| | - Keren Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Lingyan Wang
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Panjin, China
| | - Nana Zhang
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Panjin, China
| | - Qiushi Chen
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Laboratory for Synthetic Chemistry and Chemical Biology Limited, Hong Kong Science Park, Science Park West Avenue, Hong Kong, China
| | - Mingshan Niu
- Blood Diseases Institute, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wenli Li
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Panjin, China
| | - Xiaomin Zhong
- Department of Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
| | - Sijin Wu
- Laboratory of Molecular Modeling and Design, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Reaction Dynamics, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, China
| | - Jianing Zhang
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Panjin, China
| | - Yubo Liu
- School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Panjin, China
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3
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Zhou M, Gan XL, Ren YX, Chen QX, Yang YZ, Weng ZJ, Zhang XF, Guan JX, Tang LY, Ren ZF. AGR2 and FOXA1 as prognostic markers in ER-positive breast cancer. BMC Cancer 2023; 23:743. [PMID: 37568077 PMCID: PMC10416444 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-023-10964-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The prognostic role of either forkhead box A1 (FOXA1) or anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) in breast cancer has been found separately. Considering that there were interplays between them depending on ER status, we aimed to assess the statistical interaction between AGR2 and FOXA1 on breast cancer prognosis and examine the prognostic role of the combination of them by ER status. METHODS AGR2 and FOXA1 expression in tumor tissues were evaluated with tissue microarrays by immunohistochemistry in 915 breast cancer patients with follow up data. The expression levels of these two markers were treated as binary variables, and many different cutoff values were tried for each marker. Survival and Cox proportional hazard analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between AGR2, FOXA1 and prognosis, and the statistical interaction between them on the prognosis was assessed on multiplicative scale. RESULTS Statistical interaction between AGR2 and FOXA1 on the PFS was significant with all the cutoff points in ER-positive breast cancer patients but not ER-negative ones. Among ER-positive patients, the poor prognostic role of the high level of FOXA1 was significant only in patients with the low level of AGR2, and vice versa. When AGR2 and FOXA1 were considered together, patients with low levels of both markers had significantly longer PFS compared with all other groups. CONCLUSIONS There was a statistical interaction between AGR2 and FOXA1 on the prognosis of ER-positive breast cancer. The combination of AGR2 and FOXA1 was a more useful marker for the prognosis of ER-positive breast cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Zhou
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2Nd Rd, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Xing-Li Gan
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2Nd Rd, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Yue-Xiang Ren
- The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 600 Tianhe Rd, Guangzhou, 510630, China.
| | - Qian-Xin Chen
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2Nd Rd, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | | | - Zi-Jin Weng
- The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 600 Tianhe Rd, Guangzhou, 510630, China
| | - Xiao-Fang Zhang
- The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 600 Tianhe Rd, Guangzhou, 510630, China
| | - Jie-Xia Guan
- The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 600 Tianhe Rd, Guangzhou, 510630, China
| | - Lu-Ying Tang
- The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, 600 Tianhe Rd, Guangzhou, 510630, China.
| | - Ze-Fang Ren
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2Nd Rd, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
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Systematic Pan-Cancer Analysis and Experimental Verification Identify FOXA1 as an Immunological and Prognostic Biomarker in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer. DISEASE MARKERS 2022; 2022:9328972. [DOI: 10.1155/2022/9328972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Background. Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) has the lowest survival rate among female reproductive cancers present with symptoms of aggressive malignancies, poor prognosis, drug resistance and postoperative recurrence. The majority of patients with EOC are diagnosed at an advanced stage due to the therapeutic challenges including lack of early diagnosis and effective therapeutic targets for EOC. Methods. Pan-cancer analyses were performed to explore the features of forkhead-box (FOX) A1 (FOXA1) using data from TCGA and GTEx databases. R package “clusterprofiler” was used to perform the enrichment analysis of FOXA1 in EOC. Data downloaded from Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database were used to evaluate the association between FOXA1 and antitumor drug sensitivity. In experimental verification, FOXA1 expression was detected using qRT-PCR and western blot assays. Western blot, immunofluorescence staining, and Transwell assays were used to assess the influence of FOXA1 silencing on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of EOC cells. Results. We found that FOXA1 was highly expressed in EOC and predicted poorer survival of EOC patients. We observed that FOXA1 expression was positively correlated EMT-related pathways. Through experimental verification, we found the underlying function of FOXA1 to promote EMT in ovarian cancers. The results from western blot, immunofluorescence staining, and Transwell assays showed that FOXA1 silencing impeded the progression of EMT and invasiveness of the cancer cells. Furthermore, CCK-8 and invasion assays suggested that siRNA-FOXA1 attenuated the ability of cancer cells to metastasize and proliferate. Dual-luciferase reporter assays confirmed the binding activity of FOXA1 to the promoter of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). In addition, we found that FOXA1 was closely correlated immunosuppressive microenvironment of EOC. High FOXA1 expression may contribute to the resistance of many anticancer drugs. Conclusions. Our results predict and validate the function of FOXA1 in promoting EMT and the progression of disease in EOC. Targeting FOXA1 may improve the sensitivity of EOC treatment.
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FOXA1 in Breast Cancer: A Luminal Marker with Promising Prognostic and Predictive Impact. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14194699. [PMID: 36230619 PMCID: PMC9564251 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14194699] [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: 08/28/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The present review focuses on the function of the forkhead protein FOXA1 in breast cancer (BC) in relation to steroid hormone receptors. We explored the currently available analytic approaches for FOXA1 assessment both at gene and protein levels, comparing the differences between the available techniques used for its diagnostic assessment. In addition, we elaborated on data regarding the prognostic and predictive role of this marker in BC based on several studies that evaluated its expression in relation to the outcome and/or response to therapy. FOXA1, similar to the androgen receptor (AR), may have a dual role in BC according to hormonal status. In luminal cancers, its expression contributes to a better prognosis, while in triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC), it implies an adverse outcome. Consequently, we observed that FOXA1-positive expression in a neoadjuvant setting may predict a lack of response in luminal BC as opposed to TNBC, in which FOXA1 allegedly increases its chemosensitivity. In conclusion, considering its accessible and convenient identification by immunohistochemistry, its important impact on prognosis, and its suitability to identify patients with different responses to chemotherapy, we propose that FOXA1 could be tested in routine diagnostics as an additional prognostic and predictive marker in BC.
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6
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Elevated FOXA1 Expression Indicates Poor Prognosis in Liver Cancer due to Its Effects on Cell Proliferation and Metastasis. DISEASE MARKERS 2022; 2022:3317315. [PMID: 35968505 PMCID: PMC9374549 DOI: 10.1155/2022/3317315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Purpose Studying the pathogenesis of liver cancer is conducive to the exploration of effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. In this study, we investigated the expression of FOXA1 and its oncogenic role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Transcriptome data of HCC tissues were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GEO databases and analyzed using R software. We also upregulated FOXA1 expression in HCC cells and investigated the role of FOXA1 in the proliferation and migration of HCC cells through proliferation, colony formation, wound healing, and Transwell assays. Results An analysis of the transcriptome data in TCGA database revealed found that FOXA1 is highly expressed in HCC tissues and that patients with low FOXA1 expression have a better prognosis. High FOXA1 expression was mainly associated with extracellular matrix organization, cancer, and mitosis. The results of an immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay showed that FOXA1 protein was highly expressed in HCC tissues, and patients with low FOXA1 expression showed longer disease-specific survival times and progression-free intervals. The results from quantitative reverse transcription–PCR (RT–qPCR) and Western blot experiments showed that the expression of FOXA1 in liver cancer cell lines was higher than that in immortalized human liver cell lines. Proliferation, wound healing, and Transwell experiments showed that FOXA1 enhanced the proliferation and migration abilities of liver cancer and immortalized human cell lines. Conclusion Our research suggests that FOXA1 plays an important role in promoting the recurrence and metastasis of HCC by increasing cell proliferation and metastasis.
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7
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Chen QX, Yang YZ, Liang ZZ, Chen JL, Li YL, Huang ZY, Weng ZJ, Zhang XF, Guan JX, Tang LY, Yun JP, Ren ZF. Time-varying effects of FOXA1 on breast cancer prognosis. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2021; 187:867-875. [PMID: 33604715 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-021-06125-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Results of previous studies on the associations between Forkhead box A1 (FOXA1) expression in breast cancer tissues and the prognosis varied depending on the follow-up durations. The present study would investigate whether there is a time-varying effect of FOXA1 in breast cancer tissues on the prognosis. METHODS FOXA1 expressions were evaluated in 1041 primary invasive breast tumors with tissue microarrays by immunohistochemistry. Cox models with restricted cubic splines and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were used to examine the associations between FOXA1 and the prognosis. Flexible parametric models were applied to explore the time-varying effect of FOXA1. RESULTS Overall, the association between FOXA1 expression and the prognosis was not significant but varied on the time of follow-up. Compared to FOXA1 ≤ 270 of H-score, the hazard ratios (HRs) of death for those with 271-285 of FOXA1 expression increased from 0.35 (95% CI 0.14-0.86) at 6 months after diagnosis to 2.88 (95% CI 1.35-6.15) at 120 months with a crossover at around 36 months. Similar patterns were also observed for FOXA1 > 285 of H-score and for progression free survival (PFS). Moreover, when allowed both FOXA1 and estrogen receptor (ER) to change over time in the model (considering that ER had a similar time-varying effect), these time-varying effects remained for FOXA1 on both overall survival (OS) (P < 0.01) and PFS (P = 0.01) but were attenuated for ER (P = 0.13 for OS). CONCLUSIONS This study revealed an independent time-varying effect of FOXA1 on breast cancer prognosis, which would provide an insight into the roles of FOXA1 as a marker of breast cancer prognosis and may help optimize the medication strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian-Xin Chen
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2nd Rd, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Yuan-Zhong Yang
- The Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Zhuo-Zhi Liang
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2nd Rd, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Jia-Li Chen
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2nd Rd, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- Guangzhou Institute of Dermatology, Guangzhou, 510095, China
| | - Yue-Lin Li
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2nd Rd, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Zi-Yi Huang
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2nd Rd, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Zi-Jin Weng
- The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, China
| | - Xiao-Fang Zhang
- The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, China
| | - Jie-Xia Guan
- The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, China
| | - Lu-Ying Tang
- The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, China
| | - Jing-Ping Yun
- The Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
| | - Ze-Fang Ren
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2nd Rd, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
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8
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Huang B, Trujillo MA, Fujikura K, Qiu M, Chen F, Felsenstein M, Zhou C, Skaro M, Gauthier C, Macgregor-Das A, Hutchings D, Hong SM, Hruban RH, Eshleman JR, Thompson ED, Klein AP, Goggins M, Wood LD, Roberts NJ. Molecular characterization of organoids derived from pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms. J Pathol 2020; 252:252-262. [PMID: 32696980 DOI: 10.1002/path.5515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are commonly identified non-invasive cyst-forming pancreatic neoplasms with the potential to progress into invasive pancreatic adenocarcinoma. There are few in vitro models with which to study the biology of IPMNs and their progression to invasive carcinoma. Therefore, we generated a living biobank of organoids from seven normal pancreatic ducts and ten IPMNs. We characterized eight IPMN organoid samples using whole genome sequencing and characterized five IPMN organoids and seven normal pancreatic duct organoids using transcriptome sequencing. We identified an average of 11,344 somatic mutations in the genomes of organoids derived from IPMNs, with one sample harboring 61,537 somatic mutations enriched for T→C transitions and T→A transversions. Recurrent coding somatic mutations were identified in 15 genes, including KRAS, GNAS, RNF43, PHF3, and RBM10. The most frequently mutated genes were KRAS, GNAS, and RNF43, with somatic mutations identified in six (75%), four (50%), and three (37.5%) IPMN organoid samples, respectively. On average, we identified 36 structural variants in IPMN derived organoids, and none had an unstable phenotype (> 200 structural variants). Transcriptome sequencing identified 28 genes differentially expressed between normal pancreatic duct organoid and IPMN organoid samples. The most significantly upregulated and downregulated genes were CLDN18 and FOXA1. Immunohistochemical analysis of FOXA1 expression in 112 IPMNs, 113 mucinous cystic neoplasms, and 145 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas demonstrated statistically significant loss of expression in low-grade IPMNs (p < 0.0016), mucinous cystic neoplasms (p < 0.0001), and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma of any histologic grade (p < 0.0001) compared to normal pancreatic ducts. These data indicate that FOXA1 loss of expression occurs early in pancreatic tumorigenesis. Our study highlights the utility of organoid culture to study the genetics and biology of normal pancreatic duct and IPMNs. © 2020 The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Huang
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Pathology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Maria A Trujillo
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kohei Fujikura
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Miaozhen Qiu
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, PR China
| | - Fei Chen
- Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Matthäus Felsenstein
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Surgery, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Cancan Zhou
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Michael Skaro
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Christian Gauthier
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Anne Macgregor-Das
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Danielle Hutchings
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Seung-Mo Hong
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Pathology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Ralph H Hruban
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - James R Eshleman
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Elizabeth D Thompson
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Alison P Klein
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Michael Goggins
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Laura D Wood
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Nicholas J Roberts
- Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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9
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Xia YK, Zeng YR, Zhang ML, Liu P, Liu F, Zhang H, He CX, Sun YP, Zhang JY, Zhang C, Song L, Ding C, Tang YJ, Yang Z, Yang C, Wang P, Guan KL, Xiong Y, Ye D. Tumor-derived neomorphic mutations in ASXL1 impairs the BAP1-ASXL1-FOXK1/K2 transcription network. Protein Cell 2020; 12:557-577. [PMID: 32683582 PMCID: PMC8225741 DOI: 10.1007/s13238-020-00754-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Additional sex combs-like 1 (ASXL1) interacts with BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) deubiquitinase to oppose the polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1)-mediated histone H2A ubiquitylation. Germline BAP1 mutations are found in a spectrum of human malignancies, while ASXL1 mutations recurrently occur in myeloid neoplasm and are associated with poor prognosis. Nearly all ASXL1 mutations are heterozygous frameshift or nonsense mutations in the middle or to a less extent the C-terminal region, resulting in the production of C-terminally truncated mutant ASXL1 proteins. How ASXL1 regulates specific target genes and how the C-terminal truncation of ASXL1 promotes leukemogenesis are unclear. Here, we report that ASXL1 interacts with forkhead transcription factors FOXK1 and FOXK2 to regulate a subset of FOXK1/K2 target genes. We show that the C-terminally truncated mutant ASXL1 proteins are expressed at much higher levels than the wild-type protein in ASXL1 heterozygous leukemia cells, and lose the ability to interact with FOXK1/K2. Specific deletion of the mutant allele eliminates the expression of C-terminally truncated ASXL1 and increases the association of wild-type ASXL1 with BAP1, thereby restoring the expression of BAP1-ASXL1-FOXK1/K2 target genes, particularly those involved in glucose metabolism, oxygen sensing, and JAK-STAT3 signaling pathways. In addition to FOXK1/K2, we also identify other DNA-binding transcription regulators including transcription factors (TFs) which interact with wild-type ASXL1, but not C-terminally truncated mutant. Our results suggest that ASXL1 mutations result in neomorphic alleles that contribute to leukemogenesis at least in part through dominantly inhibiting the wild-type ASXL1 from interacting with BAP1 and thereby impairing the function of ASXL1-BAP1-TF in regulating target genes and leukemia cell growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Kun Xia
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China.,The International Co-Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yi-Rong Zeng
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China.,The International Co-Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Meng-Li Zhang
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China.,The International Co-Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200032, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Peng Liu
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China.,The International Co-Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Fang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of National Ministry of Education, Department of Pathophysiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Hao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai, 200032, China.,Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Chen-Xi He
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yi-Ping Sun
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China.,The International Co-Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jin-Ye Zhang
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China.,The International Co-Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Cheng Zhang
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China.,The International Co-Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Lei Song
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, 102206, China.,National Center for Protein Sciences (The PHOENIX Center, Beijing), Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Chen Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yu-Jie Tang
- Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of National Ministry of Education, Department of Pathophysiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200025, China
| | - Zhen Yang
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Chen Yang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai, 200032, China.,Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Pu Wang
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China.,The International Co-Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Kun-Liang Guan
- Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Yue Xiong
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Dan Ye
- Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, and Molecular and Cell Biology Lab, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, and the Key Laboratory of Metabolism and Molecular, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China. .,The International Co-Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200032, China. .,Department of General Surgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
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10
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Guo Y, Yuan X, Li K, Dai M, Zhang L, Wu Y, Sun C, Chen Y, Cheng G, Liu C, Strååt K, Kong F, Zhao S, Bjorkhölm M, Xu D. GABPA is a master regulator of luminal identity and restrains aggressive diseases in bladder cancer. Cell Death Differ 2020; 27:1862-1877. [PMID: 31802036 PMCID: PMC7244562 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-019-0466-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Revised: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
TERT promoter mutations occur in the majority of glioblastoma, bladder cancer (BC), and other malignancies while the ETS family transcription factors GABPA and its partner GABPB1 activate the mutant TERT promoter and telomerase in these tumors. GABPA depletion or the disruption of the GABPA/GABPB1 complex by knocking down GABPB1 was shown to inhibit telomerase, thereby eliminating the tumorigenic potential of glioblastoma cells. GABPA/B1 is thus suggested as a cancer therapeutic target. However, it is unclear about its role in BC. Here we unexpectedly observed that GABPA ablation inhibited TERT expression, but robustly increased proliferation, stem, and invasive phenotypes and cisplatin resistance in BC cells, while its overexpression exhibited opposite effects, and inhibited in vivo metastasizing in a xenograft transplant model. Mechanistically, GABPA directly activates the transcription of FoxA1 and GATA3, key transcription factors driving luminal differentiation of urothelial cells. Consistently, TCGA/GEO dataset analyses show that GABPA expression is correlated positively with luminal while negatively with basal signatures. Luminal tumors express higher GABPA than do basal ones. Lower GABPA expression is associated with the GABPA gene methylation or deletion (especially in basal subtype of BC tumors), and predicted significantly shorter patient survival based on TCGA and our cohort of BC patient analyses. Taken together, GABPA dictates luminal identity of BC cells and inhibits aggressive diseases in BC by promoting cellular differentiation despite its stimulatory effect on telomerase/TERT activation. Given these biological functions and its frequent methylation and/or deletion, GABPA serves as a tumor suppressor rather than oncogenic factor in BC. The GABPA effect on oncogenesis is context-dependent and its targeting for telomerase inhibition in BC may promote disease metastasizing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanxia Guo
- Department of Urology, Shandong Provincial Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
- Key Laboratory for Kidney Regeneration of Shandong Province, Jinan, PR China
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinsk Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Xiaotian Yuan
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinsk Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
- School of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Kailin Li
- Central Research Laboratory, the Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Mingkai Dai
- Key Laboratory for Kidney Regeneration of Shandong Province, Jinan, PR China
- Central Research Laboratory, the Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Lu Zhang
- Central Research Laboratory, the Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Yujiao Wu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinsk Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Chao Sun
- Central Research Laboratory, the Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Yuan Chen
- Central Research Laboratory, the Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Guanghui Cheng
- Central Research Laboratory, the Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
| | - Cheng Liu
- Department of Urology, The Third Hospital of Beijing University, Beijing, PR China
| | - Klas Strååt
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinsk Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Feng Kong
- Department of Urology, Shandong Provincial Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
- Key Laboratory for Kidney Regeneration of Shandong Province, Jinan, PR China.
| | - Shengtian Zhao
- Department of Urology, Shandong Provincial Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, PR China.
- Key Laboratory for Kidney Regeneration of Shandong Province, Jinan, PR China.
| | - Magnus Bjorkhölm
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinsk Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Stockholm, Sweden
- Karolinska Institute-Shandong University Collaborative Laboratories for Cancer and Stem Cell Research, Jinan, PR China
| | - Dawei Xu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Bioclinicum and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinsk Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Karolinska Institute-Shandong University Collaborative Laboratories for Cancer and Stem Cell Research, Jinan, PR China.
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11
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Bacolod MD, Huang J, Giardina SF, Feinberg PB, Mirza AH, Swistel A, Soper SA, Barany F. Prediction of blood-based biomarkers and subsequent design of bisulfite PCR-LDR-qPCR assay for breast cancer detection. BMC Cancer 2020; 20:85. [PMID: 32005108 PMCID: PMC6995062 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-020-6574-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Interrogation of site-specific CpG methylation in circulating tumor DNAs (ctDNAs) has been employed in a number of studies for early detection of breast cancer (BrCa). In many of these studies, the markers were identified based on known biology of BrCa progression, and interrogated using methyl-specific PCR (MSP), a technique involving bisulfite conversion, PCR, and qPCR. Methods In this report, we are demonstrating the development of a novel assay (Multiplex Bisulfite PCR-LDR-qPCR) which can potentially offer improvements to MSP, by integrating additional steps such as ligase detection reaction (LDR), methylated CpG target enrichment, carryover protection (use of uracil DNA glycosylase), and minimization of primer-dimer formation (use of ribose primers and RNAseH2). The assay is designed to for breast cancer-specific CpG markers identified through integrated analyses of publicly available genome-wide methylation datasets for 31 types of primary tumors (including BrCa), as well as matching normal tissues, and peripheral blood. Results Our results indicate that the PCR-LDR-qPCR assay is capable of detecting ~ 30 methylated copies of each of 3 BrCa-specific CpG markers, when mixed with excess amount unmethylated CpG markers (~ 3000 copies each), which is a reasonable approximation of BrCa ctDNA overwhelmed with peripheral blood cell-free DNA (cfDNA) when isolated from patient plasma. The bioinformatically-identified CpG markers are located in promoter regions of NR5A2 and PRKCB, and a non-coding region of chromosome 1 (upstream of EFNA3). Additional bioinformatic analyses would reveal that these methylation markers are independent of patient race and age, and positively associated with signaling pathways associated with BrCa progression (such as those related to retinoid nuclear receptor, PTEN, p53, pRB, and p27). Conclusion This report demonstrates the potential utilization of bisulfite PCR-LDR-qPCR assay, along with bioinformatically-driven biomarker discovery, in blood-based BrCa detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manny D Bacolod
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
| | - Jianmin Huang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Sarah F Giardina
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Philip B Feinberg
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Aashiq H Mirza
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Alexander Swistel
- Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Steven A Soper
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66047, USA
| | - Francis Barany
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
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12
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Jing X, Liang H, Hao C, Hongxia L, Cui X. Analyses of an epigenetic switch involved in the activation of pioneer factor FOXA1 leading to the prognostic value of estrogen receptor and FOXA1 co-expression in breast cancer. Aging (Albany NY) 2019; 11:7442-7456. [PMID: 31562808 PMCID: PMC6782010 DOI: 10.18632/aging.102250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Forkhead box protein A1 (FOXA1) is a pioneer factor of estrogen receptor α (ER)–chromatin binding and function, yet the role of FOXA1 in breast cancer and the underlying molecular mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. To evaluate gene expression alterations during breast carcinogenesis, FOXA1 expression was analyzed using the Serial Analysis of Gene Expression Genie suite, a gene expression profiling interactive analysis, and Oncomine analyses. The correlation between methylation and expression was analyzed using the MEXPRESS tool and UCSC Xena browser. Then, the expression and prognostic value of FOXA1 was validated by our own breast cancer samples using RT-PCR. We obtained the following important results. (1) The expression level of FOXA1 was significantly higher in breast cancer than normal tissues. (2) ER, PR, HEGR-2, and nodal status were positively correlated with FOXA1 expression. (3) Among patients with ER+ tumors, those with higher FOXA1 expression levels had better survival probabilities. (4) The major mutation type in FOXA1 in breast cancer samples was missense mutations. (5) FOXA1 expression was significantly higher in ER+ breast tumors than in ER− tumors or normal tissues. Our findings suggest that the aberrant DNA hypomethylation of promoter regions is one mechanism underlying the aberrant expression of FOXA1 in ER+ breast cancer, which might be a potential indicator of favorable prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Jing
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliate of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, P.R. China
| | - Hongping Liang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliate of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, P.R. China
| | - Chonghua Hao
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliate of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, P.R. China
| | - Li Hongxia
- Department of Oncology, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliate of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, P.R. China
| | - Xiangrong Cui
- Reproductive Medicine Center, Children's Hospital of Shanxi and Women Health Center of Shanxi, Affiliate of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030000, P.R. China
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13
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Wang X, Srivastava Y, Jankowski A, Malik V, Wei Y, Del Rosario RC, Cojocaru V, Prabhakar S, Jauch R. DNA-mediated dimerization on a compact sequence signature controls enhancer engagement and regulation by FOXA1. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:5470-5486. [PMID: 29669022 PMCID: PMC6009666 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
FOXA1 is a transcription factor capable to bind silenced chromatin to direct context-dependent cell fate conversion. Here, we demonstrate that a compact palindromic DNA element (termed 'DIV' for its diverging half-sites) induces the homodimerization of FOXA1 with strongly positive cooperativity. Alternative structural models are consistent with either an indirect DNA-mediated cooperativity or a direct protein-protein interaction. The cooperative homodimer formation is strictly constrained by precise half-site spacing. Re-analysis of chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing data indicates that the DIV is effectively targeted by FOXA1 in the context of chromatin. Reporter assays show that FOXA1-dependent transcriptional activity declines when homodimeric binding is disrupted. In response to phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase inhibition DIV sites pre-bound by FOXA1 such as at the PVT1/MYC locus exhibit a strong increase in accessibility suggesting a role of the DIV configuration in the chromatin closed-open dynamics. Moreover, several disease-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms map to DIV elements and show allelic differences in FOXA1 homodimerization, reporter gene expression and are annotated as quantitative trait loci. This includes the rs541455835 variant at the MAPT locus encoding the Tau protein associated with Parkinson's disease. Collectively, the DIV guides chromatin engagement and regulation by FOXA1 and its perturbation could be linked to disease etiologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuecong Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Joint School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 511436, China.,Genome Regulation Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yogesh Srivastava
- CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Joint School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 511436, China.,Genome Regulation Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Aleksander Jankowski
- Computational and Systems Biology, Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore 138672, Singapore.,Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warszawa, Poland.,Genome Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Vikas Malik
- CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Joint School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 511436, China.,Genome Regulation Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yuanjie Wei
- CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Joint School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 511436, China.,Genome Regulation Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ricardo Ch Del Rosario
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 75 Ames St., Cambridge MA 02142, USA
| | - Vlad Cojocaru
- Computational Structural Biology Laboratory, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Röntgenstrasse 20, Münster 48149, Germany.,Center for Multiscale Theory and Computation, Westfälische Wilhelms University, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Shyam Prabhakar
- Computational and Systems Biology, Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore 138672, Singapore
| | - Ralf Jauch
- CAS Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Joint School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 511436, China.,Genome Regulation Laboratory, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.,School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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14
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Coexpression of FOXK1 and vimentin promotes EMT, migration, and invasion in gastric cancer cells. J Mol Med (Berl) 2018; 97:163-176. [PMID: 30483822 DOI: 10.1007/s00109-018-1720-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Revised: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
In human gastric cancer (GC), the upregulation of FOXK1 and vimentin is frequently observed in cancer cells and correlates with increased malignancy. We report that FOXK1 synergizes with vimentin to promote GC invasion and metastasis via the induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We showed that higher expression levels of FOXK1 were significantly associated with GC development. FOXK1 can physically interact with and stabilize vimentin. Moreover, a positive correlation between the expression of FOXK1 and vimentin was found in GC cells. Higher expression levels of these two proteins were significantly associated with differentiation, lymph node metastasis, AJCC stage, and poorer prognosis. Furthermore, the coexpression of FOXK1 and vimentin enhances cell metastasis through the induction of EMT in GC cells. However, the siRNA-mediated repression of vimentin in FOXK1-overexpressing cells reversed the EMT-like phenotype and reduced GC cell migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Altogether, our findings suggest that the vimentin-FOXK1 axis provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying EMT regulation during GC progression and metastasis.
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15
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Rangel N, Fortunati N, Osella-Abate S, Annaratone L, Isella C, Catalano MG, Rinella L, Metovic J, Boldorini R, Balmativola D, Ferrando P, Marano F, Cassoni P, Sapino A, Castellano I. FOXA1 and AR in invasive breast cancer: new findings on their co-expression and impact on prognosis in ER-positive patients. BMC Cancer 2018; 18:703. [PMID: 29970021 PMCID: PMC6029370 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-018-4624-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The role of forkhead-box A1 (FOXA1) and Androgen receptor (AR) in breast cancer (BC) has been extensively studied. However, the prognostic role of their co-expression in Estrogen receptor positive (ER+) BC has not been investigated so far. The aim of the present study was thus to assess the co-expression (protein and mRNA) of FOXA1 and AR in BC patients, in order to evaluate their prognostic impact according to ER status. Methods Immunohistochemical expression of AR and FOXA1 was evaluated on 479 consecutive BC, with complete clinical-pathological and follow up data. Fresh-frozen tissues from 65 cases were available. The expression of AR and FOXA1 with ER was validated using mRNA analyses. Survival and Cox proportional hazard analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between FOXA1, AR and prognosis. Results Expression of ER, AR and FOXA1 was observed in 78, 60 and 85% of cases respectively. Most AR+ cases (97%) were also FOXA1+. The level of FOXA1 mRNA positively correlated with level of both AR mRNA (r = 0.8975; P < 0.001) and ER mRNA (r = 0.7326; P < 0.001). In ER+ BC, FOXA1 was associated with a good prognosis independently of AR expression in the three subgroups analyzed (FOXA1+/AR+; FOXA1+/AR-; FOXA1−/AR-). Multivariate analyses confirmed that FOXA1 may provide more information than AR in Disease-Free Interval (DFI) of ER+ BC patients. Conclusion Our results suggest that in BC the expression of FOXA1 is directly related to the expression of AR. Despite that, FOXA1 is found as superior predicting marker of recurrences compared to AR in ER+ BC patients. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-018-4624-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelson Rangel
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy.,Natural and Mathematical Sciences Faculty, University of the Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Nicoletta Fortunati
- Oncological Endocrinology Unit, Città della Salute e della Scienza Hospital, Turin, Italy
| | - Simona Osella-Abate
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy
| | - Laura Annaratone
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy
| | | | | | - Letizia Rinella
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy
| | - Jasna Metovic
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy
| | - Renzo Boldorini
- Division of Pathology, Department of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Piedmont and Maggiore Hospital, Novara, Italy
| | | | - Pietro Ferrando
- Division of Breast Surgery, Department of General and Specialized Surgery, Città della Salute e della Scienza Hospital, Turin, Italy
| | - Francesca Marano
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy
| | - Paola Cassoni
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy
| | - Anna Sapino
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy.,Candiolo Cancer Institute - FPO, IRCCS, Candiolo, Italy
| | - Isabella Castellano
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy.
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16
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Wu Y, Peng Y, Wu M, Zhang W, Zhang M, Xie R, Zhang P, Bai Y, Zhao J, Li A, Nan Q, Chen Y, Ren Y, Liu S, Wang J. Oncogene FOXK1 enhances invasion of colorectal carcinoma by inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Oncotarget 2018; 7:51150-51162. [PMID: 27223064 PMCID: PMC5239465 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.9457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/06/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcriptional factor FOXK1 is a member of the FOX family, involved in the cell growth and metabolism. The higher expression of FOXK1 leads to a variety of diseases and may play an important role in the development of various tumors. However, the role of FOXK1 in the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. We demonstrated that FOXK1 was overexpressed in 16 types of solid tumor tissues via tissue multi-array (TMA). We found that FOXK1 induced elevated expressions and transactivities of five major oncogenes in CRC. Moreover, the elevated expression of FOXK1 was showed to be correlated with tumor progression and was a significant predictor of overall survival in CRC patients. Furthermore, it was showed that the depletion of FOXK1 expression could inhibit the migratory and invasive abilities of CRC cells. In contrast, ectopic expression of FOXK1 elicited the opposite effects on these phenotypes in vitro. FOXK1 promoted tumor metastasis through EMT program induction. In addition, TGF-β1 induced FOXK1 expression in a time-dependent pattern and the knockdown of FOXK1 inhibited TGF-β1-induced EMT. In vivo, higher expression of FOXK1 promotes CRC cell invasion and metastasis, and induces EMT in CRC as well. Alltogether, it was concluded that the higher expression of FOXK1 could indicate a poor prognosis in CRC patients since that FOXK1 induces EMT and promotes CRC cell invasion in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Wu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.,Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Ying Peng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Meiyan Wu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Wenjing Zhang
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650032, China
| | - Mengnan Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Ruyi Xie
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Pei Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Yang Bai
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Jinjun Zhao
- Department of Rheumatism, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Aimin Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Qingzhen Nan
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Ye Chen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Yuexin Ren
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Side Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Jide Wang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology, Department of Gastroenterology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
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17
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Wang D, Wang S, Ji B, Zheng M. Spatiotemporal expression of FOXA1 correlates with reactive gliosis after spinal cord injury. Neuropeptides 2017; 66:36-44. [PMID: 28844448 DOI: 10.1016/j.npep.2017.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2017] [Revised: 08/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Forkhead box A1 (FOXA1) is a member of the FOX family of transcription factors and involved in various mammalian processes. However, the expression and function of FOXA1 in central nervous system (CNS) are still with limited acquaintance. In present study, we performed an acute spinal cord injury (SCI) model in adult rats and investigated the dynamic changes of FOXA1 expression in spinal cord. We found that FOXA1 protein levels were significantly increased after SCI and we observed that the expression of FOXA1 is enhanced in the white matter. Meanwhile, double immunofluorescence staining showed that increased levels of FOXA1 were striking in astrocytes and microglia. We also examined the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), whose changes were correlated with the expression profiles of FOXA1. In vitro, FOXA1 depletion by siRNA inhibited astrocyte proliferation and migration. Meanwhile, FOXA1 knockdown also reduce cell cycle related proteins. Which indicated that FOXA1 might modulate cell cycle progression and play a crucial role in cell proliferation. Furthermore, FOXA1 knockdown also inhibited LPS-induced synthesis/secretion of IL-1β and TNF-α in primary microglia. These results indicated that FOXA1 might play an important role in pathophysiology after SCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongliang Wang
- Department of Orthopaedics, Yancheng City No.1 People's Hospital, China
| | - Siqing Wang
- Department of Orthopaedics, Yancheng City No.1 People's Hospital, China
| | - Biao Ji
- Department of Orthopaedics, Yancheng City No.1 People's Hospital, China
| | - Minqian Zheng
- Department of Orthopaedics, Yancheng City No.1 People's Hospital, China.
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18
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Li L, Gong M, Zhao Y, Zhao X, Li Q. FOXK1 facilitates cell proliferation through regulating the expression of p21, and promotes metastasis in ovarian cancer. Oncotarget 2017; 8:70441-70451. [PMID: 29050292 PMCID: PMC5642567 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.19713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Ovarian cancer is one of the most common cancer in the world. FOX family plays essential function in multiple cancers. In our work, FOXK1 was found to up-regulate in ovarian cancer tissue samples and cell lines; moreover, the expression of FOXK1 was correlated with tumor size, metastasis and poorly prognosis. To evaluate the function of FOXK1 in ovarian cancer, we performed colony formation analysis, CCK-8 assay and cell cycle analysis to determine the effect of FOXK1 on cell proliferation and cell cycle. We found that FOXK1 obviously improved the ability of cell proliferation through promoting cell cycle. Furthermore, ChIP assay and luciferase reporter assay indicated that FOXK1 facilitated cell cycle through regulating the expression of p21, but FOXK1 had no effect on cell apoptosis. In addition, wound healing assay and transwell invasion analysis demonstrated that FOXK1 promoted migration and invasion in ovarian cancer. In conclusion, our work indicate FOXK1 plays a key function in the ovarian cancer, it promotes cell proliferation and metastasis. FOXK1 serves as a novel molecular therapy target in ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Li
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Hebei Medical University, Hebei, China
| | - Miao Gong
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Hebei Medical University, Hebei, China
| | - Yu Zhao
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Hebei Medical University, Hebei, China
| | - Xiujun Zhao
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Hebei Medical University, Hebei, China
| | - Quanhai Li
- Department of Immunology, Hebei Medical University, Hebei, China
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19
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Zhang X, Chiang HC, Wang Y, Zhang C, Smith S, Zhao X, Nair SJ, Michalek J, Jatoi I, Lautner M, Oliver B, Wang H, Petit A, Soler T, Brunet J, Mateo F, Angel Pujana M, Poggi E, Chaldekas K, Isaacs C, Peshkin BN, Ochoa O, Chedin F, Theoharis C, Sun LZ, Curiel TJ, Elledge R, Jin VX, Hu Y, Li R. Attenuation of RNA polymerase II pausing mitigates BRCA1-associated R-loop accumulation and tumorigenesis. Nat Commun 2017; 8:15908. [PMID: 28649985 PMCID: PMC5490191 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Accepted: 05/12/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Most BRCA1-associated breast tumours are basal-like yet originate from luminal progenitors. BRCA1 is best known for its functions in double-strand break repair and resolution of DNA replication stress. However, it is unclear whether loss of these ubiquitously important functions fully explains the cell lineage-specific tumorigenesis. In vitro studies implicate BRCA1 in elimination of R-loops, DNA-RNA hybrid structures involved in transcription and genetic instability. Here we show that R-loops accumulate preferentially in breast luminal epithelial cells, not in basal epithelial or stromal cells, of BRCA1 mutation carriers. Furthermore, R-loops are enriched at the 5' end of those genes with promoter-proximal RNA polymerase II (Pol II) pausing. Genetic ablation of Cobra1, which encodes a Pol II-pausing and BRCA1-binding protein, ameliorates R-loop accumulation and reduces tumorigenesis in Brca1-knockout mouse mammary epithelium. Our studies show that Pol II pausing is an important contributor to BRCA1-associated R-loop accumulation and breast cancer development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaowen Zhang
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Huai-Chin Chiang
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Yao Wang
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Chi Zhang
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Sabrina Smith
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Xiayan Zhao
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Sreejith J. Nair
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Joel Michalek
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Ismail Jatoi
- Department of Surgery, Cancer Therapy and Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Meeghan Lautner
- Department of Surgery, Cancer Therapy and Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Boyce Oliver
- Department of Surgery, Cancer Therapy and Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Howard Wang
- Department of Surgery, Cancer Therapy and Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Anna Petit
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Bellvitge, Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet del Llobregat, Barcelona 08908, Spain
| | - Teresa Soler
- Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Bellvitge, Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet del Llobregat, Barcelona 08908, Spain
| | - Joan Brunet
- Hereditary Cancer Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI), Girona 17007, Spain
| | - Francesca Mateo
- Breast Cancer and Systems Biology Lab, Program Against Cancer Therapeutic Resistance (ProCURE), Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet del Llobregat, Barcelona 08908, Spain
| | - Miguel Angel Pujana
- Breast Cancer and Systems Biology Lab, Program Against Cancer Therapeutic Resistance (ProCURE), Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet del Llobregat, Barcelona 08908, Spain
| | - Elizabeth Poggi
- Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA
| | - Krysta Chaldekas
- Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA
| | - Claudine Isaacs
- Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA
| | - Beth N. Peshkin
- Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia 20007, USA
| | - Oscar Ochoa
- PRMA Plastic Surgery, San Antonio, Texas 78240, USA
| | - Frederic Chedin
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | | | - Lu-Zhe Sun
- Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Tyler J. Curiel
- Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Richard Elledge
- Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Victor X. Jin
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Yanfen Hu
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
| | - Rong Li
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, USA
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20
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Guiu S, Charon-Barra C, Vernerey D, Fumoleau P, Campone M, Spielmann M, Roché H, Mesleard C, Arnould L, Lemonnier J, Lacroix-Triki M. Coexpression of androgen receptor and FOXA1 in nonmetastatic triple-negative breast cancer: ancillary study from PACS08 trial. Future Oncol 2016; 11:2283-97. [PMID: 26260807 DOI: 10.2217/fon.15.102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM Microarray studies identified a subgroup of molecular apocrine tumors (estrogen receptor [ER] negative/androgen receptor [AR] positive) that express luminal genes including FOXA1. FOXA1 may direct AR to sites normally occupied by ER in luminal tumors, inducing an estrogen-like gene program that stimulated proliferation. MATERIALS & METHODS Expression of AR and FOXA1 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 592 patients with nonmetastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). RESULTS Coexpression of AR and FOXA1 was found in 15.2% of patients. These tumors were more frequently lobular, found in older patients and exhibited a lower nuclear grade and a greater degree of node involvement. They less often exhibited lymphocytic infiltrate, pushing margins, syncytial architecture, central fibrosis or necrosis. CONCLUSION TNBC with coexpression of AR and FOXA1 seems to behave like luminal tumors with a morphological profile distinct from other TNBC. These biomarkers could be useful to identify a subgroup of TNBC and could have future therapeutic implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Séverine Guiu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Institut du Cancer de Montpellier, 208 avenue des Apothicaires, 34298 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Céline Charon-Barra
- Department of Pathology, Georges-François Leclerc Cancer Center, 1 rue du Professeur Marion, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Déwi Vernerey
- Methodological and Quality of Life in Oncology Unit, EA 3181, University Hospital of Besançon, 2 place Saint-Jacques, 25000 Besançon, France
| | - Pierre Fumoleau
- Department of Medical Oncology, Georges-François Leclerc Cancer Center, 1 rue du Professeur Marion, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Mario Campone
- Department of Medical Oncology, ICO Centre René Gauducheau, boulevard Jacques Monod, 44805 Saint Herblain, France
| | - Marc Spielmann
- Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Gustave Roussy, 114 rue Edouard-Vaillant, 94800 Villejuif, France
| | - Henri Roché
- Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Claudius Régaud, 20/24 Rue du Pont Saint Pierre, 31300 Toulouse, France
| | | | - Laurent Arnould
- Department of Pathology, Georges-François Leclerc Cancer Center, 1 rue du Professeur Marion, 21000 Dijon, France
| | | | - Magali Lacroix-Triki
- Department of Pathology, Institut Claudius Régaud, 20/24 rue du Pont Saint Pierre, 31300 Toulouse, France
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21
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He K, Zeng H, Xu X, Li A, Cai Q, Long X. Clinicopathological significance of forkhead box protein A1 in breast cancer: A meta-analysis. Exp Ther Med 2016; 11:2525-2530. [PMID: 27284343 DOI: 10.3892/etm.2016.3229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2014] [Accepted: 02/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between the expression of forkhead box protein A1 (FOXA1) and differential clinicopathological characteristics in breast cancer using a meta-analysis method. Eligible studies that investigated the correlation between FOXA1 expression and the clinical characteristics of breast cancer were collected through searching numerous databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and the VIP database. In total, eight studies were included in the meta-analysis. Following a systematic analysis, the expression of FOXA1 was found to be significantly associated with the estrogen receptor α status, the progesterone receptor status, lymph node metastasis and the histological grade in breast cancer. However, no statistically significant association was observed between FOXA1 expression and the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 status in breast cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keli He
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, P.R. China
| | - Hui Zeng
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, P.R. China
| | - Xianqun Xu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, P.R. China
| | - Anling Li
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, P.R. China
| | - Qing Cai
- TCM Clinical Skills Training Center, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei 430061, P.R. China
| | - Xinghua Long
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, P.R. China
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22
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BRCA1 positively regulates FOXO3 expression by restricting FOXO3 gene methylation and epigenetic silencing through targeting EZH2 in breast cancer. Oncogenesis 2016; 5:e214. [PMID: 27043660 PMCID: PMC4848836 DOI: 10.1038/oncsis.2016.23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Revised: 02/12/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BRCA1 mutation or depletion correlates with basal-like phenotype and poor prognosis in breast cancer but the underlying reason remains elusive. RNA and protein analysis of a panel of breast cancer cell lines revealed that BRCA1 deficiency is associated with downregulation of the expression of the pleiotropic tumour suppressor FOXO3. Knockdown of BRCA1 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) resulted in downregulation of FOXO3 expression in the BRCA1-competent MCF-7, whereas expression of BRCA1 restored FOXO3 expression in BRCA1-defective HCC70 and MDA-MB-468 cells, suggesting a role of BRCA1 in the control of FOXO3 expression. Treatment of HCC70 and MDA-MB-468 cells with either the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycitydine, the N-methyltransferase enhancer of zeste homologue 2 (EZH2) inhibitor GSK126 or EZH2 siRNA induced FOXO3 mRNA and protein expression, but had no effect on the BRCA1-competent MCF-7 cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis demonstrated that BRCA1, EZH2, DNMT1/3a/b and histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) are recruited to the endogenous FOXO3 promoter, further advocating that these proteins interact to modulate FOXO3 methylation and expression. In addition, ChIP results also revealed that BRCA1 depletion promoted the recruitment of the DNA methyltransferases DNMT1/3a/3b and the enrichment of the EZH2-mediated transcriptional repressive epigenetic marks H3K27me3 on the FOXO3 promoter. Methylated DNA immunoprecipitation assays also confirmed increased CpG methylation of the FOXO3 gene on BRCA1 depletion. Analysis of the global gene methylation profiles of a cohort of 33 familial breast tumours revealed that FOXO3 promoter methylation is significantly associated with BRCA1 mutation. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry further suggested that FOXO3 expression was significantly associated with BRCA1 status in EZH2-positive breast cancer. Consistently, high FOXO3 and EZH2 mRNA levels were significantly associated with good and poor prognosis in breast cancer, respectively. Together, these data suggest that BRCA1 can prevent and reverse FOXO3 suppression via inhibiting EZH2 and, consequently, its ability to recruit the transcriptional repressive H3K27me3 histone marks and the DNA methylases DNMT1/3a/3b, to induce DNA methylation and gene silencing on the FOXO3 promoter.
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23
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Niang B, Jin L, Chen X, Guo X, Zhang H, Wu Q, Padhiar AA, Xiao M, Fang D, Zhang J. GalNAc-T4 putatively modulates the estrogen regulatory network through FOXA1 glycosylation in human breast cancer cells. Mol Cell Biochem 2016; 411:393-402. [PMID: 26541755 DOI: 10.1007/s11010-015-2601-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 10/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
GALNT4 belongs to a family of N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases, which catalyze the transfer of GalNAc to Serine or Threonine residues in the initial step of mucin-type O-linked protein glycosylation. This glycosylation type is the most complex post-translational modification of proteins, playing important roles during cellular differentiation and in pathological disorders. Most of the breast cancer subtypes are estrogen receptor positive, and hence, the estrogen pathway represents a key regulatory network. We investigated the expression of GalNAc-T4 in a panel of mammary epithelial cell lines and found its expression is associated with the estrogen status of the cells. FOXA1, a key transcription factor, functions to promote estrogen responsive gene expression by acting as a cofactor to estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), but all the aspects of this regulatory mechanism are not fully explored. This study found that knockdown of GALNT4 expression in human breast cancer cells attenuated the protein expression of ERα, FOXA1, and Cyclin D1. Further, our immunoprecipitation assays depicted the possibility of FOXA1 to undergo O-GalNAc modifications with a decrease of GalNAc residues in the GALNT4 knockdown cells and also impairment in the FOXA1-ERα association. Rescuing GALNT4 expression could restore the interaction as well as the glycosylation of FOXA1. Together, these findings suggest a key role for GalNAc-T4 in the estrogen pathway through FOXA1 glycosylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bachir Niang
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Glycobiology, Dalian Medical University, 9 South Lvshun Road Western Section, Dalian, 116044, China
| | - Liyuan Jin
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Glycobiology, Dalian Medical University, 9 South Lvshun Road Western Section, Dalian, 116044, China
| | - Xixi Chen
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Glycobiology, Dalian Medical University, 9 South Lvshun Road Western Section, Dalian, 116044, China
| | - Xiaohan Guo
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Glycobiology, Dalian Medical University, 9 South Lvshun Road Western Section, Dalian, 116044, China
| | - Hongshuo Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Glycobiology, Dalian Medical University, 9 South Lvshun Road Western Section, Dalian, 116044, China
| | - Qiong Wu
- School of Life Science and Medicine, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian, 116024, China
| | - Arshad Ahmed Padhiar
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Glycobiology, Dalian Medical University, 9 South Lvshun Road Western Section, Dalian, 116044, China
| | - Min Xiao
- National Glycoengineering Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China
| | - Deyu Fang
- Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 303 E. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Jianing Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Glycobiology, Dalian Medical University, 9 South Lvshun Road Western Section, Dalian, 116044, China.
- School of Life Science and Medicine, Dalian University of Technology, 2 Linggong Road, Dalian, 116024, China.
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24
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Fagerholm R, Schmidt MK, Khan S, Rafiq S, Tapper W, Aittomäki K, Greco D, Heikkinen T, Muranen TA, Fasching PA, Janni W, Weinshilboum R, Loehberg CR, Hopper JL, Southey MC, Keeman R, Lindblom A, Margolin S, Mannermaa A, Kataja V, Chenevix-Trench G, Investigators KC, Lambrechts D, Wildiers H, Chang-Claude J, Seibold P, Couch FJ, Olson JE, Andrulis IL, Knight JA, García-Closas M, Figueroa J, Hooning MJ, Jager A, Shah M, Perkins BJ, Luben R, Hamann U, Kabisch M, Czene K, Hall P, Easton DF, Pharoah PD, Liu J, Eccles D, Blomqvist C, Nevanlinna H. The SNP rs6500843 in 16p13.3 is associated with survival specifically among chemotherapy-treated breast cancer patients. Oncotarget 2015; 6:7390-407. [PMID: 25823661 PMCID: PMC4480688 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.3506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2015] [Accepted: 01/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We have utilized a two-stage study design to search for SNPs associated with the survival of breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. Our initial GWS data set consisted of 805 Finnish breast cancer cases (360 treated with adjuvant chemotherapy). The top 39 SNPs from this stage were analyzed in three independent data sets: iCOGS (n=6720 chemotherapy-treated cases), SUCCESS-A (n=3596), and POSH (n=518). Two SNPs were successfully validated: rs6500843 (any chemotherapy; per-allele HR 1.16, 95% C.I. 1.08-1.26, p=0.0001, p(adjusted)=0.0091), and rs11155012 (anthracycline therapy; per-allele HR 1.21, 95% C.I. 1.08-1.35, p=0.0010, p(adjusted)=0.0270). The SNP rs6500843 was found to specifically interact with adjuvant chemotherapy, independently of standard prognostic markers (p(interaction)=0.0009), with the rs6500843-GG genotype corresponding to the highest hazard among chemotherapy-treated cases (HR 1.47, 95% C.I. 1.20-1.80). Upon trans-eQTL analysis of public microarray data, the rs6500843 locus was found to associate with the expression of a group of genes involved in cell cycle control, notably AURKA, the expression of which also exhibited differential prognostic value between chemotherapy-treated and untreated cases in our analysis of microarray data. Based on previously published information, we propose that the eQTL genes may be connected to the rs6500843 locus via a RBFOX1-FOXM1 -mediated regulatory pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Fagerholm
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Marjanka K. Schmidt
- Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sofia Khan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sajjad Rafiq
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK
| | - William Tapper
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK
| | - Kristiina Aittomäki
- Department of Clinical Genetics, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Dario Greco
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tuomas Heikkinen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Taru A. Muranen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Peter A. Fasching
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Wolfgang Janni
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Richard Weinshilboum
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Mayo Medical School-Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Christian R. Loehberg
- University Breast Center Franconia, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, Erlangen, Germany
| | - John L. Hopper
- Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Melissa C. Southey
- Department of Pathology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Renske Keeman
- Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Annika Lindblom
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sara Margolin
- Department of Oncology - Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Arto Mannermaa
- School of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Pathology and Forensic Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Cancer Center of Eastern Finland, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Imaging Center, Department of Clinical Pathology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Vesa Kataja
- Cancer Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| | | | | | - Diether Lambrechts
- Vesalius Research Center (VRC), VIB, Leuven, Belgium
- Laboratory for Translational Genetics, Department of Oncology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hans Wildiers
- Multidisciplinary Breast Center, Medical Oncology, University Hospital Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jenny Chang-Claude
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Petra Seibold
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Fergus J. Couch
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Janet E. Olson
- Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Irene L. Andrulis
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Julia A. Knight
- Prosserman Centre for Health Research, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Montserrat García-Closas
- Division of Genetics and Epidemiology, Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, UK
- Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, Division of Breast Cancer Research, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK
| | - Jonine Figueroa
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Maartje J. Hooning
- Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, 3008 AE Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Agnes Jager
- Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, 3008 AE Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mitul Shah
- Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Barbara J. Perkins
- Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Robert Luben
- Clinical Gerontology, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ute Hamann
- Molecular Genetics of Breast Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maria Kabisch
- Molecular Genetics of Breast Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kamila Czene
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Per Hall
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Douglas F. Easton
- Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Paul D.P. Pharoah
- Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, UK
- Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jianjun Liu
- Human Genetics Division, Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Diana Eccles
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK
| | - Carl Blomqvist
- Department of Oncology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, HUS, Finland
| | - Heli Nevanlinna
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
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Low FOXA1 expression predicts good response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy resulting in good outcomes for luminal HER2-negative breast cancer cases. Br J Cancer 2014; 112:345-51. [PMID: 25422910 PMCID: PMC4453454 DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2014.595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2014] [Revised: 10/25/2014] [Accepted: 11/03/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: FOXA1 expression is a good prognostic marker for endocrine therapy in hormone-positive breast cancer. We retrospectively examined breast cancer patients with luminal human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative tumours, as defined by immunohistochemistry, who received neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and investigated the relationship between treatment effects and FOXA1 expression. Methods: Biopsy specimens from 103 luminal HER2-negative tumours were immunohistochemically examined. FOXA1 effects on chemo-sensitivity were also investigated employing in vitro experiments. Results: FOXA1 and Ki67 expressions independently predicted a pathological complete response (pCR). Knockdown of FOXA1 by siRNA boosted the chemo-effect in oestrogen receptor-positive cells. The Cox hazards model revealed a pCR to be the strongest factor predicting a good patient outcome. Conclusions: Our present study showed low FOXA1 expression to be associated with a good response to NAC in luminal HER2-negative breast cancer. Improved outcomes of these patients suggest that NAC should be recommended to patients with low FOXA1 tumours.
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WANG JINGYUN, BAO WEI, QIU MEITING, LIAO YUN, CHE QI, YANG TINGTING, HE XIAOYING, QIU HAIFENG, WAN XIAOPING. Forkhead-box A1 suppresses the progression of endometrial cancer via crosstalk with estrogen receptor α. Oncol Rep 2014; 31:1225-34. [DOI: 10.3892/or.2014.2982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2013] [Accepted: 12/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
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Comprehensive identification of mutational cancer driver genes across 12 tumor types. Sci Rep 2013; 3:2650. [PMID: 24084849 PMCID: PMC3788361 DOI: 10.1038/srep02650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 355] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2013] [Accepted: 08/23/2013] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
With the ability to fully sequence tumor genomes/exomes, the quest for cancer driver genes can now be undertaken in an unbiased manner. However, obtaining a complete catalog of cancer genes is difficult due to the heterogeneous molecular nature of the disease and the limitations of available computational methods. Here we show that the combination of complementary methods allows identifying a comprehensive and reliable list of cancer driver genes. We provide a list of 291 high-confidence cancer driver genes acting on 3,205 tumors from 12 different cancer types. Among those genes, some have not been previously identified as cancer drivers and 16 have clear preference to sustain mutations in one specific tumor type. The novel driver candidates complement our current picture of the emergence of these diseases. In summary, the catalog of driver genes and the methodology presented here open new avenues to better understand the mechanisms of tumorigenesis.
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Bernardo GM, Bebek G, Ginther CL, Sizemore ST, Lozada KL, Miedler JD, Anderson LA, Godwin AK, Abdul-Karim FW, Slamon DJ, Keri RA. FOXA1 represses the molecular phenotype of basal breast cancer cells. Oncogene 2013; 32:554-63. [PMID: 22391567 PMCID: PMC3371315 DOI: 10.1038/onc.2012.62] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2011] [Revised: 01/11/2012] [Accepted: 01/13/2012] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease that comprises multiple subtypes. Luminal subtype tumors confer a more favorable patient prognosis, which is, in part, attributed to estrogen receptor (ER)-α positivity and antihormone responsiveness. Expression of the forkhead box transcription factor, FOXA1, similarly correlates with the luminal subtype and patient survival, but is also present in a subset of ER-negative tumors. FOXA1 is also consistently expressed in luminal breast cancer cell lines even in the absence of ER. In contrast, breast cancer cell lines representing the basal subtype do not express FOXA1. To delineate an ER-independent role for FOXA1 in maintaining the luminal phenotype, and hence a more favorable prognosis, we performed expression microarray analyses on FOXA1-positive and ER-positive (MCF7, T47D), or FOXA1-positive and ER-negative (MDA-MB-453, SKBR3) luminal cell lines in the presence or absence of transient FOXA1 silencing. This resulted in three FOXA1 transcriptomes: (1) a luminal signature (consistent across cell lines), (2) an ER-positive signature (restricted to MCF7 and T47D) and (3) an ER-negative signature (restricted to MDA-MB-453 and SKBR3). Gene set enrichment analyses revealed FOXA1 silencing causes a partial transcriptome shift from luminal to basal gene expression signatures. FOXA1 binds to a subset of both luminal and basal genes within luminal breast cancer cells, and loss of FOXA1 increases enhancer RNA transcription for a representative basal gene (CD58). These data suggest FOXA1 directly represses a subset of basal signature genes. Functionally, FOXA1 silencing increases migration and invasion of luminal cancer cells, both of which are characteristics of basal subtype cells. We conclude FOXA1 controls plasticity between basal and luminal breast cancer cells, not only by inducing luminal genes but also by repressing the basal phenotype, and thus aggressiveness. Although it has been proposed that FOXA1-targeting agents may be useful for treating luminal tumors, these data suggest that this approach may promote transitions toward more aggressive cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina M. Bernardo
- Departments of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Gurkan Bebek
- Departments of Case Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Charles L. Ginther
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Steven T. Sizemore
- Departments of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Kristen L. Lozada
- Departments of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - John D. Miedler
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals-Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Lee A. Anderson
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Andrew K. Godwin
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA
| | - Fadi W. Abdul-Karim
- Departments of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals-Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Dennis J. Slamon
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Ruth A. Keri
- Departments of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Departments of Genetics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Division of General Medical Sciences-Oncology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
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β-Catenin signaling regulates Foxa2 expression during endometrial hyperplasia formation. Oncogene 2012; 32:3477-82. [PMID: 22945641 DOI: 10.1038/onc.2012.376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2012] [Revised: 06/20/2012] [Accepted: 07/09/2012] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The Wnt/β-catenin signaling is essential for various organogenesis and is often implicated during tumorigenesis. Dysregulated β-catenin signaling is associated with the formation of endometrial adenocarcinomas (EACs), which is considered as the common form of endometrial cancer in women. In the current study, we investigate the downstream target of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in the uterine epithelia and the mechanism leading to the formation of endometrial hyperplasia. We report that conditional ablation and activation of β-catenin in the uterine epithelia lead to aberrant epithelial structures and endometrial hyperplasia formation, respectively. We demonstrate that β-catenin regulates Foxa2 with its candidate upstream region for the uterine epithelia. Furthermore, knockdown of Foxa2 leads to defects in cell cycle regulation, suggesting a possible function of Foxa2 in the control of cell proliferation. We also observe that β-catenin and Foxa2 expression levels are augmented in the human specimens of complex atypical endometrial hyperplasia, which is considered to have a greater risk of progression to EACs. Thus, our study indicates that β-catenin regulates Foxa2 expression, and this interaction is possibly essential to control cell cycle progression during endometrial hyperplasia formation. Altogether, the augmented expression levels of β-catenin and Foxa2 are essential features during the formation of endometrial hyperplasia.
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Bai F, Smith MD, Chan HL, Pei XH. Germline mutation of Brca1 alters the fate of mammary luminal cells and causes luminal-to-basal mammary tumor transformation. Oncogene 2012; 32:2715-25. [PMID: 22777348 DOI: 10.1038/onc.2012.293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Breast cancer developed in familial BRCA1 mutation carriers bears striking similarities to sporadic basal-like breast tumors. The mechanism underlying the function of BRCA1 in suppressing basal-like breast cancer remains unclear. We previously reported that the deletion of p18(Ink4c) (p18), an inhibitor of G1 cyclin Ds-dependent CDK4 and CDK6, stimulates mammary luminal progenitor cell proliferation and leads to spontaneous luminal tumor development. We report here that germline mutation of Brca1 in p18-deficient mice blocks the increase of luminal progenitor cells, impairs luminal gene expression and promotes malignant transformation of mammary tumors. Instead of the luminal mammary tumors developed in p18 single-mutant mice, mammary tumors developed in the p18;Brca1 mice, similar to breast cancer developed in familial BRCA1 carriers, exhibited extensive basal-like features and lost the remaining wild-type allele of Brca1. These results reveal distinct functions of the RB and BRCA1 pathways in suppressing luminal and basal-like mammary tumors, respectively. These results also suggest a novel mechanism--causing luminal-to-basal transformation--for the development of basal-like breast cancer in familial BRCA1 carriers and establish a unique mouse model for developing therapeutic strategies to target both luminal and basal-like breast cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Bai
- Molecular Oncology Program, Department of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
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31
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Calvo E, Luu-The V, Belleau P, Martel C, Labrie F. Specific transcriptional response of four blockers of estrogen receptors on estradiol-modulated genes in the mouse mammary gland. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2012; 134:625-47. [PMID: 22678160 DOI: 10.1007/s10549-012-2104-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2012] [Accepted: 05/16/2012] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Novel agents for the endocrine therapy of breast cancer are needed, especially in order to take advantage of the multiple consecutive responses observed in metastatic progressing breast cancer following previous hormone therapy, thus delaying the use of cytotoxic chemotherapy with its frequent poor tolerance and serious side effects. Acolbifene (ACOL) is a novel and unique antiestrogen which represents a unique opportunity to achieve the most potent and specific blockade of estrogen action in the mammary gland and uterus while exerting estrogen-like beneficial effects in other tissues, especially the bones. To better understand the specificity of action of ACOL, we have used Affymetrix GeneChips containing 45,000 probe sets to analyze 34,000 genes to determine the specificity of this compound compared to the pure antiestrogen fulvestrant, as well as to the mixed antagonists/agonists tamoxifen and raloxifene to block the effect of estradiol (E(2)) and to induce effects of their own on the genomic profile in the mouse mammary gland. The genes modulated by E(2) were those identified in two separate experiments and validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Three hours after the single subcutaneous injection of E(2) (0.05 μg), the simultaneous administration of ACOL, fulvestrant, tamoxifen, and raloxifene blocked by 98, 61, 43, and 92 % the number of E(2)-upregulated genes, respectively. On the other hand, 70, 10, 25, and 55 % of the genes down-regulated by E(2) were blocked by the same compounds. Of the 128 genes modulated by E(2), 49 are associated with tumorigenesis while 22 are known to be associated with breast cancer. When used alone, ACOL modulated the smallest number of genes also influenced by E(2), namely 4 %, thus possibly explaining potential utilities of this compound in breast cancer prevention and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ezequiel Calvo
- Molecular Endocrinology, Oncology and Human Genomics Research Center, Laval University and Laval University Hospital Research Center, 2705 Laurier Blvd, Quebec, QC, G1V 4G2, Canada
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Exome sequencing identifies recurrent SPOP, FOXA1 and MED12 mutations in prostate cancer. Nat Genet 2012; 44:685-9. [PMID: 22610119 DOI: 10.1038/ng.2279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1143] [Impact Index Per Article: 95.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2011] [Accepted: 04/19/2012] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide and causes over 250,000 deaths each year. Overtreatment of indolent disease also results in significant morbidity. Common genetic alterations in prostate cancer include losses of NKX3.1 (8p21) and PTEN (10q23), gains of AR (the androgen receptor gene) and fusion of ETS family transcription factor genes with androgen-responsive promoters. Recurrent somatic base-pair substitutions are believed to be less contributory in prostate tumorigenesis but have not been systematically analyzed in large cohorts. Here, we sequenced the exomes of 112 prostate tumor and normal tissue pairs. New recurrent mutations were identified in multiple genes, including MED12 and FOXA1. SPOP was the most frequently mutated gene, with mutations involving the SPOP substrate-binding cleft in 6-15% of tumors across multiple independent cohorts. Prostate cancers with mutant SPOP lacked ETS family gene rearrangements and showed a distinct pattern of genomic alterations. Thus, SPOP mutations may define a new molecular subtype of prostate cancer.
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Ahmed S, Al-Saigh S, Matthews J. FOXA1 Is Essential for Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor–Dependent Regulation of Cyclin G2. Mol Cancer Res 2012; 10:636-48. [DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-11-0502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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FOXA1: a transcription factor with parallel functions in development and cancer. Biosci Rep 2012; 32:113-30. [PMID: 22115363 DOI: 10.1042/bsr20110046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 152] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
When aberrant, factors critical for organ morphogenesis are also commonly involved in disease progression. FOXA1 (forkhead box A1), also known as HNF3α (hepatocyte nuclear factor 3α), is required for postnatal survival due to its essential role in controlling pancreatic and renal function. In addition to regulating a variety of tissues during embryogenesis and early life, rescue experiments have revealed a specific role for FOXA1 in the postnatal development of the mammary gland and prostate. Activity of the nuclear hormone receptors ERα (oestrogen receptor α) and AR (androgen receptor) is also required for proper development of the mammary gland and prostate respectively. FOXA1 modulates ER and AR function in breast and prostate cancer cells, supporting the postulate that FOXA1 is involved in ER and AR signalling under normal conditions, and that some carcinogenic processes in these tissues stem from hormonally regulated developmental pathways gone awry. In addition to broadly reviewing the function of FOXA1 in various aspects of development and cancer, this review focuses on the interplay of FOXA1/ER and FOXA1/AR, in normal and cancerous mammary and prostate epithelial cells. Given the hormone dependency of both breast and prostate cancer, a thorough understanding of FOXA1's role in both cancer types is critical for battling hormone receptor-positive disease and acquired anti-hormone resistance.
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Abe Y, Ijichi N, Ikeda K, Kayano H, Horie-Inoue K, Takeda S, Inoue S. Forkhead box transcription factor, forkhead box A1, shows negative association with lymph node status in endometrial cancer, and represses cell proliferation and migration of endometrial cancer cells. Cancer Sci 2012; 103:806-12. [PMID: 22313737 DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2012.02201.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2011] [Revised: 12/14/2011] [Accepted: 12/18/2011] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Endometrial cancer is the most common malignancy of the female genital tract and is associated with poor prognosis. It is primarily a hormone-dependent cancer that is regulated by steroid hormones, including estrogen and progesterone. Forkhead box A1 (FOXA1) is a member of the forkhead box transcription factor family and functions as a pioneer factor in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. In the present study, we investigated the expression of FOXA1 in endometrial cancers by immunohistochemical analysis. Nuclear immunoreactivity for FOXA1 was detected in 40 of 109 cases (37%), and was found to be negatively associated with lymph node status (P = 0.033). In ER-positive Ishikawa endometrial cancer cells, small interfering RNA-mediated downregulation of FOXA1 promoted cell proliferation and migration. Furthermore, exogenously introduced FOXA1 suppressed both proliferation and migration of Ishikawa cells. These results suggest that FOXA1 functions as a tumor suppressor through modulation of proliferation and migration of endometrial cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yayoi Abe
- Division of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan
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36
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Abstract
GATA transcription factor family members have been found to play a critical role in the differentiation of many tissue types. For example, GATA-3 has been found to be highly correlated with estrogen receptor α (ER) expression and is emerging as one of the "master regulators" in breast ductal epithelial cell differentiation. Recently, we discovered another GATA family member highly prevalent in breast cancer called the trichorhinophalangeal syndrome-1 gene (TRPS-1). Using a quantitative immunohistochemistry (qIHC) approach, we found that TRPS-1 was significantly correlated with ER, PR, GATA-3, as well as HER2 expression. However, TRPS-1 was also found to be expressed in a high proportion of ER(-) ductal epithelial breast cancers (BCs), indicating that it may act as a ductal epithelial cell-specific transcription factor regulating cell fate at some point in the epithelial cell differentiation pathway. In keeping with this hypothesis, we found that TRPS-1 protein expression in BC above a certain threshold using qIHC correlated with markedly improved overall survival. Cox proportional hazards analysis found that both TRPS-1 and ER expression above critical threshold equally predicted for improved survival. Thus, TRPS-1 may be a powerful new positive prognostic marker in BC, and further IHC studies, as well as examination of its molecular function in ductal epithelial cell differentiation in the breast, are warranted. In this regard, data on the role of TRPS-1 in the differentiation of cells from mesenchymal precursors in other tissues, such as kidney metanephric mesenchymal cells, columnar chondrocytes, and osteoblasts, in mouse models may be useful. Indeed, these studies have found that TRPS-1 is a critical regulator of mesenchymal-to-epithelial cell transition. In the mammary gland, the restricted expression of TRPS-1 in human, mouse, and rat ductal epithelial cells suggests that it may also play a similar role during ductal luminal progenitor/stem cell differentiation. We present a model of TRPS-1 action in which it may act upstream of GATA-3 and ER on an earlier ductal epithelial progenitor cell or mammary stem cell during mammary gland development and also helps prevent reversion of ER(+) BC cells back into mesenchymal-like cells. This model predicts that BCs with low or no TRPS-1 expression may inherently be much less differentiated and more aggressive tumors with less favorable prognosis.
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Kolokythas A, Miloro M, Zhou X. Review of MicroRNA Proposed Target Genes in Oral Cancer. Part II. EJOURNAL OF ORAL MAXILLOFACIAL RESEARCH 2011; 2:e2. [PMID: 24421989 PMCID: PMC3886061 DOI: 10.5037/jomr.2011.2202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2011] [Accepted: 04/13/2011] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Objectives Cancer is the product of alterations in oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes
and most recently microRNA genes not as a single event or single change but
rather as a multistep process. The role of microRNA genes in carcinogenesis
is recently explored and appears to be an early event in the pathogenesis of
this as well as other disease processes and occurs via gene regulation by
their own products, the microRNAs. The purpose of this article was to review
the literature concerning MicroRNA proposed target genes in oral cancer. Material and Methods A review of the available literature from 2000 to 2011 regarding the
potential roles assumed by microRNAs in oral cancer was undertaken using
PubMed, Medline, Scholar Google and Scopus. Keywords for the search were:
microRNA and oral cancer and target genes, microRNA deregulation and oral
cancer, microRNA and carcinogenesis in the head and neck/oral cavity.
English language full length articles were reviewed. Results Several microRNAs deregulated in oral cancer have been functionally validated
and their exact target genes have been identified. Furthermore the
carcinogenesis pathways impacted by these alterations has been proposed for
some of these microRNAs. Conclusions The expanding knowledge of specific roles of certain microRNAs is further
contributing to our understanding of the complexity of tumour progression
and behaviour. Consideration of this information and incorporation into
treatment modalities through targeted therapy could potentially enhance our
abilities to improve outcome especially when other established therapies
have failed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia Kolokythas
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago USA. ; Center of Molecular Biology and Oral Diseases, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago USA. ; Cancer Center, University of Illinois at Chicago USA
| | - Michael Miloro
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago USA
| | - Xiaofeng Zhou
- Center of Molecular Biology and Oral Diseases, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago USA. ; Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago USA
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FOXA1 is an independent prognostic marker for ER-positive breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2011; 131:881-90. [DOI: 10.1007/s10549-011-1482-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2010] [Accepted: 03/22/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Norquist BM, Garcia RL, Allison KH, Jokinen CH, Kernochan LE, Pizzi CC, Barrow BJ, Goff BA, Swisher EM. The molecular pathogenesis of hereditary ovarian carcinoma: alterations in the tubal epithelium of women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. Cancer 2011; 116:5261-71. [PMID: 20665887 DOI: 10.1002/cncr.25439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA1/2)-mutated ovarian carcinomas may originate in the fallopian tube. The authors of this report investigated alterations in BRCA1/2 tubal epithelium to define the molecular pathogenesis of these carcinomas. METHODS Tubal epithelium was evaluated from 31 BRCA1/2 mutation carriers with gynecologic carcinomas (BRCA CA), 89 mutation carriers who underwent risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO), and 87 controls. Ki-67 expression and p53 foci (≥10 of 12 consecutive staining cells) were scored by 2 investigators who were blinded to patient designations. Expression levels of p27 and p21 were evaluated within p53 foci. Loss of heterozygosity at the BRCA1/2 mutation site was evaluated in microdissected p53 foci and tubal neoplasms. RESULTS Background tubal proliferation as measured by Ki-67 staining was increased in the BRCA1 RRSO group (P = .005) compared with the control group. Women who had BRCA1/2 mutations had more p53 foci identified per tubal segment than women in the control group (P = .02). Levels of p27 were decreased in 12 of 28 p53 foci from women with BRCA1 mutations and in 0 of 16 p53 foci from controls (P = .002). There was no loss of the wild type BRCA1/2 allele in 5 tested p53 foci. Tubal neoplasia lost the wild type allele in 6 of 6 foci (P = .002). CONCLUSIONS The current results suggested a model of tubal carcinogenesis in women with BRCA1/2 mutations. Increased proliferation occurred globally in at-risk tubal epithelium. A mutation in the tumor protein p53 gene TP53 with clonal proliferation and loss of p27 occurred before neoplastic proliferation. Loss of the wild type BRCA1/2 allele occurred with neoplastic proliferation and before invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara M Norquist
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
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Abstract
Germline mutation in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 is associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer, particularly the most common invasive histotype - serous carcinoma. In addition, serous ovarian cancers have an unusually high frequency of other molecular events involving BRCA pathway dysfunction. Recent findings show a high frequency of TP53 mutation, chromosomal instability, distinct molecular subtypes and DNA copy number-driven changes in gene expression. These findings suggest a model in which homologous recombination repair deficiency initiates a cascade of molecular events that sculpt the evolution of high-grade serous ovarian cancer and dictate its response to therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- David D L Bowtell
- Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Department of Biochemistry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3002, Australia.
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41
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Bernardo GM, Lozada KL, Miedler JD, Harburg G, Hewitt SC, Mosley JD, Godwin AK, Korach KS, Visvader JE, Kaestner KH, Abdul-Karim FW, Montano MM, Keri RA. FOXA1 is an essential determinant of ERalpha expression and mammary ductal morphogenesis. Development 2010; 137:2045-54. [PMID: 20501593 PMCID: PMC2875844 DOI: 10.1242/dev.043299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 174] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/13/2010] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
FOXA1, estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and GATA3 independently predict favorable outcome in breast cancer patients, and their expression correlates with a differentiated, luminal tumor subtype. As transcription factors, each functions in the morphogenesis of various organs, with ERalpha and GATA3 being established regulators of mammary gland development. Interdependency between these three factors in breast cancer and normal mammary development has been suggested, but the specific role for FOXA1 is not known. Herein, we report that Foxa1 deficiency causes a defect in hormone-induced mammary ductal invasion associated with a loss of terminal end bud formation and ERalpha expression. By contrast, Foxa1 null glands maintain GATA3 expression. Unlike ERalpha and GATA3 deficiency, Foxa1 null glands form milk-producing alveoli, indicating that the defect is restricted to expansion of the ductal epithelium, further emphasizing the novel role for FOXA1 in mammary morphogenesis. Using breast cancer cell lines, we also demonstrate that FOXA1 regulates ERalpha expression, but not GATA3. These data reveal that FOXA1 is necessary for hormonal responsiveness in the developing mammary gland and ERalpha-positive breast cancers, at least in part, through its control of ERalpha expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina M. Bernardo
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Kristen L. Lozada
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - John D. Miedler
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals-Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Gwyndolen Harburg
- VBCRC Laboratory, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia
| | - Sylvia C. Hewitt
- Laboratory of Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Jonathan D. Mosley
- Department of Internal Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Andrew K. Godwin
- Department of Medical Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111, USA
| | - Kenneth S. Korach
- Laboratory of Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Jane E. Visvader
- VBCRC Laboratory, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia
| | - Klaus H. Kaestner
- Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Fadi W. Abdul-Karim
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals-Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Monica M. Montano
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Ruth A. Keri
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Division of General Medical Sciences-Oncology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Department of Genetics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
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Henson BJ, Bhattacharjee S, O'Dee DM, Feingold E, Gollin SM. Decreased expression of miR-125b and miR-100 in oral cancer cells contributes to malignancy. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2009; 48:569-82. [PMID: 19396866 DOI: 10.1002/gcc.20666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 182] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Altered microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles have been observed in numerous malignancies, including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, their role in disease is not entirely clear. Several genetic aberrations are characteristic of OSCC, with amplification of chromosomal band 11q13 and loss of distal 11q being among the most prevalent. It is not known if the expression levels of miRNAs in these regions are altered or whether they play a role in disease. We hypothesize that the expression of miRNAs mapping to 11q are altered in OSCC because of loss or amplification of chromosomal material, and that this contributes to the development and progression of OSCC. We found that miR-125b and miR-100 are down-regulated in OSCC tumor and cell lines, and that transfecting cells with exogenous miR-125b and miR-100 significantly reduced cell proliferation and modified the expression of target and nontarget genes, including some that are overexpressed in radioresistant OSCC cells. In conclusion, the down-regulation of miR-125b and miR-100 in OSCC appears to play an important role in the development and/or progression of disease and may contribute to the loss of sensitivity to ionizing radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian J Henson
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Transcriptional downregulation of p27KIP1 through regulation of E2F function during LMP1-mediated transformation. J Virol 2009; 83:12671-9. [PMID: 19828622 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01422-09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
LMP1 induces the phenotypic transformation of fibroblasts and affects regulators of the cell cycle during this process. LMP1 decreases expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27 and increases the levels and phosphorylation of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 and the retinoblastoma protein. In the present study, the effects of LMP1 on cell cycle progression and the mechanism of p27 downregulation by LMP1 were determined. Although p27 is frequently regulated at the posttranscriptional level during cell cycle progression and in cancer, LMP1 did not decrease ectopically expressed p27. However, LMP1 did decrease p27 RNA levels and inhibited the activity of p27 promoter reporters. The LMP1-regulated promoter element was mapped to a region containing two E2F sites. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays determined that the regulated cis element bound an inhibitory E2F complex containing E2F4 and p130. These findings indicate that LMP1 decreases p27 transcription through effects on E2F family transcription factors. This property likely contributes to the ability of LMP1 to stimulate cell cycle progression.
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Chowbina SR, Wu X, Zhang F, Li PM, Pandey R, Kasamsetty HN, Chen JY. HPD: an online integrated human pathway database enabling systems biology studies. BMC Bioinformatics 2009; 10 Suppl 11:S5. [PMID: 19811689 PMCID: PMC3226194 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-10-s11-s5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Pathway-oriented experimental and computational studies have led to a significant accumulation of biological knowledge concerning three major types of biological pathway events: molecular signaling events, gene regulation events, and metabolic reaction events. A pathway consists of a series of molecular pathway events that link molecular entities such as proteins, genes, and metabolites. There are approximately 300 biological pathway resources as of April 2009 according to the Pathguide database; however, these pathway databases generally have poor coverage or poor quality, and are difficult to integrate, due to syntactic-level and semantic-level data incompatibilities. Results We developed the Human Pathway Database (HPD) by integrating heterogeneous human pathway data that are either curated at the NCI Pathway Interaction Database (PID), Reactome, BioCarta, KEGG or indexed from the Protein Lounge Web sites. Integration of pathway data at syntactic, semantic, and schematic levels was based on a unified pathway data model and data warehousing-based integration techniques. HPD provides a comprehensive online view that connects human proteins, genes, RNA transcripts, enzymes, signaling events, metabolic reaction events, and gene regulatory events. At the time of this writing HPD includes 999 human pathways and more than 59,341 human molecular entities. The HPD software provides both a user-friendly Web interface for online use and a robust relational database backend for advanced pathway querying. This pathway tool enables users to 1) search for human pathways from different resources by simply entering genes/proteins involved in pathways or words appearing in pathway names, 2) analyze pathway-protein association, 3) study pathway-pathway similarity, and 4) build integrated pathway networks. We demonstrated the usage and characteristics of the new HPD through three breast cancer case studies. Conclusion HPD http://bio.informatics.iupui.edu/HPD is a new resource for searching, managing, and studying human biological pathways. Users of HPD can search against large collections of human biological pathways, compare related pathways and their molecular entity compositions, and build high-quality, expanded-scope disease pathway models. The current HPD software can help users address a wide range of pathway-related questions in human disease biology studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sudhir R Chowbina
- Indiana University School of Informatics, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
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Albergaria A, Paredes J, Sousa B, Milanezi F, Carneiro V, Bastos J, Costa S, Vieira D, Lopes N, Lam EW, Lunet N, Schmitt F. Expression of FOXA1 and GATA-3 in breast cancer: the prognostic significance in hormone receptor-negative tumours. Breast Cancer Res 2009; 11:R40. [PMID: 19549328 PMCID: PMC2716509 DOI: 10.1186/bcr2327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2009] [Revised: 05/26/2009] [Accepted: 06/23/2009] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The expression of additional genes, other than oestrogen receptor (ER), may be important to the hormone-responsive phenotype of breast cancer. Microarray analyses have revealed that forkhead box A1 (FOXA1) and GATA binding protein 3 (GATA-3) are expressed in close association with ERα, both encoding for transcription factors with a potential involvement in the ERα-mediated action in breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore if the expression of FOXA1 and GATA-3 may provide an opportunity to stratify subsets of patients that could have better outcome, among the ERα-negative/poor prognosis breast cancer group. Methods We evaluate FOXA1 and GATA-3 expression in 249 breast carcinomas by immunohistochemistry, associating it with breast cancer molecular markers, clinicopathological features and patient's survival. The clinicopathological features and immunohistochemical markers of the tumours were compared using the chi-square test and ANOVA. Disease-free survival was analysed through Kaplan–Meier survival curves and Cox regression. Results FOXA1 expression was demonstrated in 42% of invasive carcinomas, while GATA-3 was detected in 48% of the cases. FOXA1 expression was inversely associated with tumour size, Nottingham Prognostic Index, histological grade, lymph vascular invasion, lymph node stage and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) overexpression, while GATA-3 expression showed inverse association with histological grade and HER-2. Both FOXA1 and GATA-3 were directly associated with ERα and progesterone receptor. Among FOXA1-positive tumours, 83.1% are comprised in the luminal A subtype, similar to GATA-3 where 87.7% of positive tumours were classified within this molecular subtype. In the subset of ERα-negative patients, those who were FOXA1-negative had a 3.61-fold increased risk of breast cancer recurrence when compared with the FOXA1-positive. Conclusions FOXA1 was a significant predictor of good outcome in breast cancer, whereas GATA-3 was an important luminal marker. The expression of FOXA1 may be used for risk stratification among ERα-negative patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Albergaria
- Development Domain, Institute of Life and Health Sciences (ICVS), School of Health Sciences of Minho University, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal.
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Nucera C, Eeckhoute J, Finn S, Carroll JS, Ligon AH, Priolo C, Fadda G, Toner M, Sheils O, Attard M, Pontecorvi A, Nose V, Loda M, Brown M. FOXA1 Is a Potential Oncogene in Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res 2009; 15:3680-9. [DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-08-3155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Abstract
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and classification is important for clinical management. At least five subtypes can be identified based on unique gene expression patterns; this subtype classification is distinct from the histopathological classification. The transcription factor network(s) required for the specific gene expression signature in each of these subtypes is currently being elucidated. The transcription factor network composed of the oestrogen (estrogen) receptor alpha (ERalpha), FOXA1 and GATA3 may control the gene expression pattern in luminal subtype A breast cancers. Breast cancers that are dependent on this network correspond to well-differentiated and hormone-therapy-responsive tumours with good prognosis. In this review, we discuss the interplay between these transcription factors with a particular emphasis on FOXA1 structure and function, and its ability to control ERalpha function. Additionally, we discuss modulators of FOXA1 function, ERalpha-FOXA1-GATA3 downstream targets, and potential therapeutic agents that may increase differentiation through FOXA1.
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Wederell ED, Bilenky M, Cullum R, Thiessen N, Dagpinar M, Delaney A, Varhol R, Zhao Y, Zeng T, Bernier B, Ingham M, Hirst M, Robertson G, Marra MA, Jones S, Hoodless PA. Global analysis of in vivo Foxa2-binding sites in mouse adult liver using massively parallel sequencing. Nucleic Acids Res 2008; 36:4549-64. [PMID: 18611952 PMCID: PMC2504304 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkn382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Foxa2 (HNF3β) is a one of three, closely related transcription factors that are critical to the development and function of the mouse liver. We have used chromatin immunoprecipitation and massively parallel Illumina 1G sequencing (ChIP–Seq) to create a genome-wide profile of in vivo Foxa2-binding sites in the adult liver. More than 65% of the ∼11.5 k genomic sites associated with Foxa2 binding, mapped to extended gene regions of annotated genes, while more than 30% of intragenic sites were located within first introns. 20.5% of all sites were further than 50 kb from any annotated gene, suggesting an association with novel gene regions. QPCR analysis demonstrated a strong positive correlation between peak height and fold enrichment for Foxa2-binding sites. We measured the relationship between Foxa2 and liver gene expression by overlapping Foxa2-binding sites with a SAGE transcriptome profile, and found that 43.5% of genes expressed in the liver were also associated with Foxa2 binding. We also identified potential Foxa2-interacting transcription factors whose motifs were enriched near Foxa2-binding sites. Our comprehensive results for in vivo Foxa2-binding sites in the mouse liver will contribute to resolving transcriptional regulatory networks that are important for adult liver function.
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Habashy HO, Powe DG, Rakha EA, Ball G, Paish C, Gee J, Nicholson RI, Ellis IO. Forkhead-box A1 (FOXA1) expression in breast cancer and its prognostic significance. Eur J Cancer 2008; 44:1541-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2008.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2008] [Revised: 04/15/2008] [Accepted: 04/25/2008] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Pang H, Zhao H. Building pathway clusters from Random Forests classification using class votes. BMC Bioinformatics 2008; 9:87. [PMID: 18254968 PMCID: PMC2335306 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-9-87] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2007] [Accepted: 02/06/2008] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Recent years have seen the development of various pathway-based methods for the analysis of microarray gene expression data. These approaches have the potential to bring biological insights into microarray studies. A variety of methods have been proposed to construct networks using gene expression data. Because individual pathways do not act in isolation, it is important to understand how different pathways coordinate to perform cellular functions. However, there are no published methods describing how to build pathway clusters that are closely related to traits of interest. Results We propose to build pathway clusters from pathway-based classification methods. The proposed methods allow researchers to identify clusters of pathways sharing similar functions. These pathways may or may not share genes. As an illustration, our approach is applied to three human breast cancer microarray data sets. We found that our methods yielded consistent and interpretable results for these three data sets. We further investigated one of the pathway clusters found using PubMatrix. We found that informative genes in the pathway clusters do have more publications with keywords, like estrogen receptor, compared with informative genes in other top pathways. In addition, using the shortest path analysis in GeneGo's MetaCore and Human Protein Reference Database, we were able to identify the links which connect the pathways without shared genes within the pathway cluster. Conclusion Our proposed pathway clustering methods allow bioinformaticians and biologists to investigate how informative genes within pathways are related to each other and understand possible crosstalk between pathways in a cluster. Therefore, building pathway clusters may lead to a better understanding of molecular mechanisms affecting a trait of interest, and help generate further biological hypotheses from gene expression data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herbert Pang
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
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