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Faria Assoni A, Giove Mitsugi T, Wardenaar R, Oliveira Ferreira R, Farias Jandrey EH, Machado Novaes G, Fonseca de Oliveira Granha I, Bakker P, Kaid C, Zatz M, Foijer F, Keith Okamoto O. Neurodegeneration-associated protein VAPB regulates proliferation in medulloblastoma. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19481. [PMID: 37945695 PMCID: PMC10636017 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45319-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
VAMP (Vesicle-associated membrane protein)-associated protein B and C (VAPB) has been widely studied in neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, but little is known about its role in cancer. Medulloblastoma is a common brain malignancy in children and arises from undifferentiated cells during neuronal development. Therefore, medulloblastoma is an interesting model to investigate the possible relationship between VAPB and tumorigenesis. Here we demonstrate that high VAPB expression in medulloblastoma correlates with decreased overall patient survival. Consistent with this clinical correlation, we find that VAPB is required for normal proliferation rates of medulloblastoma cells in vitro and in vivo. Knockout of VAPB (VAPBKO) delayed cell cycle progression. Furthermore, transcript levels of WNT-related proteins were decreased in the VAPBKO. We conclude that VAPB is required for proliferation of medulloblastoma cells, thus revealing VAPB as a potential therapeutic target for medulloblastoma treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Faria Assoni
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 106, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil.
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, 1, Antonius Deusinglaan, 9713 AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Thiago Giove Mitsugi
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 106, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - René Wardenaar
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, 1, Antonius Deusinglaan, 9713 AV, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Raiane Oliveira Ferreira
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 106, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Elisa Helena Farias Jandrey
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 106, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Gabriela Machado Novaes
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 106, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Isabela Fonseca de Oliveira Granha
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 106, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Petra Bakker
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, 1, Antonius Deusinglaan, 9713 AV, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Carolini Kaid
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 106, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Mayana Zatz
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 106, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Floris Foijer
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, 1, Antonius Deusinglaan, 9713 AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Oswaldo Keith Okamoto
- Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, 106, Rua do Matão, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil.
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Fisher V, Sebastiani P, Cupples LA, Liu CT. ANNORE: Genetic fine mapping with functional annotation. Hum Mol Genet 2021; 31:32-40. [PMID: 34302344 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddab210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified loci of the human genome implicated in numerous complex traits. However, the limitations of this study design make it difficult to identify specific causal variants or biological mechanisms of association. We propose a novel method, AnnoRE, which uses GWAS summary statistics, local correlation structure among genotypes, and functional annotation from external databases to prioritize the most plausible causal SNPs in each trait-associated locus. Our proposed method improves upon previous fine mapping approaches by estimating the effects of functional annotation from genome-wide summary statistics, allowing for the inclusion of many annotation categories. By implementing a multiple regression model with differential shrinkage via random effects, we avoid reductive assumptions on the number of causal SNPs per locus. Application of this method to a large GWAS meta-analysis of body mass index identified six loci with significant evidence in favor of one or more variants. In an additional 24 loci, one or two variants were strongly prioritized over others in the region. The use of functional annotation in genetic fine mapping studies helps to distinguish between variants in high LD, and to identify promising targets for follow-up studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia Fisher
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Paola Sebastiani
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA.,Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, USA
| | - L Adrienne Cupples
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Ching-Ti Liu
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA
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Nair PS, Raijas P, Ahvenainen M, Philips AK, Ukkola-Vuoti L, Järvelä I. Music-listening regulates human microRNA expression. Epigenetics 2020; 16:554-566. [PMID: 32867562 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2020.1809853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Music-listening and performance have been shown to affect human gene expression. In order to further elucidate the biological basis of the effects of music on the human body, we studied the effects of music-listening on gene regulation by sequencing microRNAs of the listeners (Music Group) and their controls (Control Group) without music exposure. We identified upregulation of six microRNAs (hsa-miR-132-3p, hsa-miR-361-5p, hsa-miR-421, hsa-miR-23a-3p, hsa-miR-23b-3p, hsa-miR-25-3p) and downregulation of two microRNAs (hsa-miR-378a-3p, hsa-miR-16-2-3p) in Music Group with high musical aptitude. Some upregulated microRNAs were reported to be responsive to neuronal activity (miR-132, miR-23a, miR-23b) and modulators of neuronal plasticity, CNS myelination, and cognitive functions like long-term potentiation and memory. miR-132 plays a critical role in regulating TAU protein levels and is important for preventing tau protein aggregation that causes Alzheimer's disease. miR-132 and DICER, upregulated after music-listening, protect dopaminergic neurons and are important for retaining striatal dopamine levels. Some of the transcriptional regulators (FOS, CREB1, JUN, EGR1, and BDNF) of the upregulated microRNAs were immediate early genes and top candidates associated with musical traits. BDNF and SNCA, co-expressed and upregulated in music-listening and music-performance, are both are activated by GATA2, which is associated with musical aptitude. Several miRNAs were associated with song-learning, singing, and seasonal plasticity networks in songbirds. We did not detect any significant changes in microRNA expressions associated with music education or low musical aptitude. Our data thereby show the importance of inherent musical aptitude for music appreciation and for eliciting the human microRNA response to music-listening.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Minna Ahvenainen
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anju K Philips
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Liisa Ukkola-Vuoti
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Irma Järvelä
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Quezada S, van de Looij Y, Hale N, Rana S, Sizonenko SV, Gilchrist C, Castillo-Melendez M, Tolcos M, Walker DW. Genetic and microstructural differences in the cortical plate of gyri and sulci during gyrification in fetal sheep. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:6169-6190. [PMID: 32609332 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Revised: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Gyrification of the cerebral cortex is a developmentally important process, but the mechanisms that drive cortical folding are not fully known. Theories propose that changes within the cortical plate (CP) cause gyrification, yet differences between the CP below gyri and sulci have not been investigated. Here we report genetic and microstructural differences in the CP below gyri and sulci assessed before (at 70 days of gestational age [GA] 70), during (GA 90), and after (GA 110) gyrification in fetal sheep. The areal density of BDNF, CDK5, and NeuroD6 immunopositive cells were increased, and HDAC5 and MeCP2 mRNA levels were decreased in the CP below gyri compared with sulci during gyrification, but not before. Only the areal density of BDNF-immunopositive cells remained increased after gyrification. MAP2 immunoreactivity and neurite outgrowth were also increased in the CP below gyri compared with sulci at GA 90, and this was associated with microstructural changes assessed via diffusion tensor imaging and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging at GA 98. Differential neurite outgrowth may therefore explain the localized changes in CP architecture that result in gyrification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Quezada
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.,School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083 Australia
| | - Yohan van de Looij
- Division of Development and Growth, Department of Paediatrics and Gynaecology-Obstetrics, School of Medicine, University of Geneva, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland.,Functional and Metabolic Imaging Lab, Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Nadia Hale
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia
| | - Shreya Rana
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia
| | - Stéphane V Sizonenko
- Division of Development and Growth, Department of Paediatrics and Gynaecology-Obstetrics, School of Medicine, University of Geneva, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Courtney Gilchrist
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083 Australia.,Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - Margie Castillo-Melendez
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia
| | - Mary Tolcos
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.,School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083 Australia
| | - David W Walker
- The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.,School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083 Australia
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Zhang Z, Chen G. A logical relationship for schizophrenia, bipolar, and major depressive disorder. Part 1: Evidence from chromosome 1 high density association screen. J Comp Neurol 2020; 528:2620-2635. [PMID: 32266715 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 03/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Familial clustering of schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BPD), and major depressive disorder (MDD) was investigated systematically (Aukes et al., Genetics in Medicine, 2012, 14, 338-341) and any two or even three of these disorders could coexist in some families. Furthermore, evidence from symptomatology and psychopharmacology also imply the existence of intrinsic connections between these three major psychiatric disorders. A total of 71,445 SNPs on chromosome 1 were genotyped on 119 SCZ, 253 BPD (type-I), 177 MDD cases and 1000 controls and further validated in 986 SCZ patients in the population of Shandong province of China. Outstanding psychosis genes are systematically revealed( ATP1A4, ELTD1, FAM5C, HHAT, KIF26B, LMX1A, NEGR1, NFIA, NR5A2, NTNG1, PAPPA2, PDE4B, PEX14, RYR2, SYT6, TGFBR3, TTLL7, and USH2A). Unexpectedly, flanking genes for up to 97.09% of the associated SNPs were also replicated in an enlarged cohort of 986 SCZ patients. From the perspective of etiological rather than clinical psychiatry, bipolar, and major depressive disorder could be subtypes of schizophrenia. Meanwhile, the varied clinical feature and prognosis might be the result of interaction of genetics and epigenetics, for example, irreversible or reversible shut down, and over or insufficient expression of certain genes, which may gives other aspects of these severe mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihua Zhang
- Shandong Mental Health Center, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Gang Chen
- Department of Medical Genetics, Institute of Basic Medicine, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, China
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AbdulHameed MDM, Ippolito DL, Stallings JD, Wallqvist A. Mining kidney toxicogenomic data by using gene co-expression modules. BMC Genomics 2016; 17:790. [PMID: 27724849 PMCID: PMC5057266 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-016-3143-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2015] [Accepted: 09/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) caused by drug and toxicant ingestion is a serious clinical condition associated with high mortality rates. We currently lack detailed knowledge of the underlying molecular mechanisms and biological networks associated with AKI. In this study, we carried out gene co-expression analyses using DrugMatrix—a large toxicogenomics database with gene expression data from rats exposed to diverse chemicals—and identified gene modules associated with kidney injury to probe the molecular-level details of this disease. Results We generated a comprehensive set of gene co-expression modules by using the Iterative Signature Algorithm and found distinct clusters of modules that shared genes and were associated with similar chemical exposure conditions. We identified two module clusters that showed specificity for kidney injury in that they 1) were activated by chemical exposures causing kidney injury, 2) were not activated by other chemical exposures, and 3) contained known AKI-relevant genes such as Havcr1, Clu, and Tff3. We used the genes in these AKI-relevant module clusters to develop a signature of 30 genes that could assess the potential of a chemical to cause kidney injury well before injury actually occurs. We integrated AKI-relevant module cluster genes with protein-protein interaction networks and identified the involvement of immunoproteasomes in AKI. To identify biological networks and processes linked to Havcr1, we determined genes within the modules that frequently co-express with Havcr1, including Cd44, Plk2, Mdm2, Hnmt, Macrod1, and Gtpbp4. We verified this procedure by showing that randomized data did not identify Havcr1 co-expression genes and that excluding up to 10 % of the data caused only minimal degradation of the gene set. Finally, by using an external dataset from a rat kidney ischemic study, we showed that the frequently co-expressed genes of Havcr1 behaved similarly in a model of non-chemically induced kidney injury. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that co-expression modules and co-expressed genes contain rich information for generating novel biomarker hypotheses and constructing mechanism-based molecular networks associated with kidney injury. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3143-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Diwan M AbdulHameed
- Department of Defense Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, 504 Scott Street, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Danielle L Ippolito
- U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research, 568 Doughten Drive, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Jonathan D Stallings
- U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research, 568 Doughten Drive, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702, USA
| | - Anders Wallqvist
- Department of Defense Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, 504 Scott Street, Fort Detrick, MD, 21702, USA.
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Whitney O, Pfenning AR, Howard JT, Blatti CA, Liu F, Ward JM, Wang R, Audet JN, Kellis M, Mukherjee S, Sinha S, Hartemink AJ, West AE, Jarvis ED. Core and region-enriched networks of behaviorally regulated genes and the singing genome. Science 2014; 346:1256780. [PMID: 25504732 DOI: 10.1126/science.1256780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Songbirds represent an important model organism for elucidating molecular mechanisms that link genes with complex behaviors, in part because they have discrete vocal learning circuits that have parallels with those that mediate human speech. We found that ~10% of the genes in the avian genome were regulated by singing, and we found a striking regional diversity of both basal and singing-induced programs in the four key song nuclei of the zebra finch, a vocal learning songbird. The region-enriched patterns were a result of distinct combinations of region-enriched transcription factors (TFs), their binding motifs, and presinging acetylation of histone 3 at lysine 27 (H3K27ac) enhancer activity in the regulatory regions of the associated genes. RNA interference manipulations validated the role of the calcium-response transcription factor (CaRF) in regulating genes preferentially expressed in specific song nuclei in response to singing. Thus, differential combinatorial binding of a small group of activity-regulated TFs and predefined epigenetic enhancer activity influences the anatomical diversity of behaviorally regulated gene networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Osceola Whitney
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
| | - Andreas R Pfenning
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Jason T Howard
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Charles A Blatti
- Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Fang Liu
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - James M Ward
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Rui Wang
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Jean-Nicoles Audet
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Manolis Kellis
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | | | - Saurabh Sinha
- Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | | | - Anne E West
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
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Huth L, Rose M, Kloubert V, Winkens W, Schlensog M, Hartmann A, Knüchel R, Dahl E. BDNF is associated with SFRP1 expression in luminal and basal-like breast cancer cell lines and primary breast cancer tissues: a novel role in tumor suppression? PLoS One 2014; 9:e102558. [PMID: 25036590 PMCID: PMC4103839 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2014] [Accepted: 06/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Secreted frizzled related protein 1 (SFRP1) functions as an important inhibitor of the Wnt pathway and is a known tumor suppressor gene, which is epigenetically silenced in a variety of tumors e.g. in breast cancer. However, it is still unclear how SFRP1 exactly affects the Wnt pathway. Our aim was to decipher SFRP1 involvement in biochemical signaling in dependency of different breast cancer subtypes and to identify novel SFRP1-regulated genes. We generated SFRP1 over-expressing in vitro breast cancer models, reflecting the two major subtypes by using basal-like BT20 and luminal-like HER2-positive SKBR3 cells. DNA microarray expression profiling of these models revealed that SFRP1 expression potentially modulates Bone morphogenetic protein- and Smoothened signaling (p<0.01), in addition to the known impact on Wnt signaling. Importantly, further statistical analysis revealed that in dependency of the cancer subtype model SFRP1 may affect the canonical and non-canonical Wnt pathway (p<0.01), respectively. While SFRP1 re-expression generally mediated distinct patterns of transcriptionally induced or repressed genes in BT20 and SKBR3 cells, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was identified as a SFRP1 induced gene in both cell lines. Although BDNF has been postulated as a putative oncogene, the co-regulation with SFRP1 indicates a potential suppressive function in breast cancer. Indeed, a positive correlation between SFRP1 and BDNF protein expression could be shown (p<0.001) in primary breast cancer samples. Moreover, TCGA dataset based analysis clearly underscores that BDNF mRNA is down-regulated in primary breast cancer samples predicting a poor prognosis of these patients. In line, we functionally provide evidence that stable BDNF re-expression in basal-like BT20 breast cancer cells blocks tumor cell proliferation. Hence, our results suggest that BDNF might rather mediate suppressive than promoting function in human breast cancer whose mode of action should be addressed in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Huth
- Molecular Oncology Group, Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Michael Rose
- Molecular Oncology Group, Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Veronika Kloubert
- Molecular Oncology Group, Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Wiebke Winkens
- Molecular Oncology Group, Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Martin Schlensog
- Molecular Oncology Group, Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Arndt Hartmann
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Ruth Knüchel
- Molecular Oncology Group, Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Edgar Dahl
- Molecular Oncology Group, Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty of the RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- * E-mail:
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van Dam S, Cordeiro R, Craig T, van Dam J, Wood SH, de Magalhães JP. GeneFriends: an online co-expression analysis tool to identify novel gene targets for aging and complex diseases. BMC Genomics 2012; 13:535. [PMID: 23039964 PMCID: PMC3495651 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-13-535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2012] [Accepted: 08/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although many diseases have been well characterized at the molecular level, the underlying mechanisms are often unknown. Nearly half of all human genes remain poorly studied, yet these genes may contribute to a number of disease processes. Genes involved in common biological processes and diseases are often co-expressed. Using known disease-associated genes in a co-expression analysis may help identify and prioritize novel candidate genes for further study. RESULTS We have created an online tool, called GeneFriends, which identifies co-expressed genes in over 1,000 mouse microarray datasets. GeneFriends can be used to assign putative functions to poorly studied genes. Using a seed list of disease-associated genes and a guilt-by-association method, GeneFriends allows users to quickly identify novel genes and transcription factors associated with a disease or process. We tested GeneFriends using seed lists for aging, cancer, and mitochondrial complex I disease. We identified several candidate genes that have previously been predicted as relevant targets. Some of the genes identified are already being tested in clinical trials, indicating the effectiveness of this approach. Co-expressed transcription factors were investigated, identifying C/ebp genes as candidate regulators of aging. Furthermore, several novel candidate genes, that may be suitable for experimental or clinical follow-up, were identified. Two of the novel candidates of unknown function that were co-expressed with cancer-associated genes were selected for experimental validation. Knock-down of their human homologs (C1ORF112 and C12ORF48) in HeLa cells slowed growth, indicating that these genes of unknown function, identified by GeneFriends, may be involved in cancer. CONCLUSIONS GeneFriends is a resource for biologists to identify and prioritize novel candidate genes involved in biological processes and complex diseases. It is an intuitive online resource that will help drive experimentation. GeneFriends is available online at: http://genefriends.org/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sipko van Dam
- Integrative Genomics of Ageing Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK
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Patani N, Jiang WG, Mokbel K. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression predicts adverse pathological & clinical outcomes in human breast cancer. Cancer Cell Int 2011; 11:23. [PMID: 21767406 PMCID: PMC3156720 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2867-11-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2011] [Accepted: 07/18/2011] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has established physiological roles in the development and function of the vertebrate nervous system. BDNF has also been implicated in several human malignancies, including breast cancer (BC). However, the precise biological role of BDNF and its utility as a novel biomarker have yet to be determined. The objective of this study was to determine the mRNA and protein expression of BDNF in a cohort of women with BC. Expression levels were compared with normal background tissues and evaluated against established pathological parameters and clinical outcome over a 10 year follow-up period. Methods BC tissues (n = 127) and normal tissues (n = 33) underwent RNA extraction and reverse transcription, BDNF transcript levels were determined using real-time quantitative PCR. BDNF protein expression in mammary tissues was assessed with standard immuno-histochemical methodology. Expression levels were analyzed against tumour size, grade, nodal involvement, TNM stage, Nottingham Prognostic Index (NPI) and clinical outcome over a 10 year follow-up period. Results Immuno-histochemical staining revealed substantially greater BDNF expression within neoplastic cells, compared to normal mammary epithelial cells. Significantly higher mRNA transcript levels were found in the BC specimens compared to background tissues (p = 0.007). The expression of BDNF mRNA was demonstrated to increase with increasing NPI; NPI-1 vs. NPI-2 (p = 0.009). Increased BDNF transcript levels were found to be significantly associated with nodal positivity (p = 0.047). Compared to patients who remained disease free, higher BDNF expression was significantly associated with local recurrence (LR) (p = 0.0014), death from BC (p = 0.018) and poor prognosis overall (p = 0.013). After a median follow up of 10 years, higher BDNF expression levels were significantly associated with reduced overall survival (OS) (106 vs. 136 months, p = 0.006). BDNF emerged as an independent prognostic variable in multivariate analysis for disease free survival (DFS) (p = 0.026) and approached significance for OS (p = 0.055). Conclusion BDNF expression was found to be significantly higher in BC specimens compared to normal tissue. Higher transcript levels were significantly associated with unfavourable pathological parameters including nodal positivity and increasing NPI; and adverse clinical outcomes including LR, death from BC, poor prognosis, reduced DFS and OS. BDNF offers utility as a prognostic marker and potential for targeted therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neill Patani
- Department of Breast Surgery, The London Breast Institute, The Princess Grace Hospital, 42-52 Nottingham Place, W1U-5NY, London, England, UK.
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Gross J, Angerstein M, Fuchs J, Stute K, Mazurek B. Expression analysis of prestin and selected transcription factors in newborn rats. Cell Mol Neurobiol 2011; 31:1089-101. [PMID: 21614551 DOI: 10.1007/s10571-011-9708-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2011] [Accepted: 05/11/2011] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) have a central role to play in regulating gene expression. To analyze the co-expression patterns of selected TFs with the motor protein prestin of the outer hair cells, we applied an real-time PCR approach combining several kinds of information: (i) expression changes during postnatal development, (ii) expression changes by exposure of organotypic cultures of the organ of Corti to factors which significantly affect prestin expression [thyroid hormone (T4), retinoic acid (RA), butyric acid (BA), increased KCl concentration] and (iii) changes along the apical-basal gradient. We found that the mRNA levels of the TF Brn-3c (Pou4f3), a member of the POU family, are significantly associated with the regulation of prestin during postnatal development and in cultures supplemented with T4 (0.5 μM), BA (0.5-2.0 mM), and high KCl (50 mM) concentration. The mRNA level of the constitutively active TF C/ebpb (CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta) correlates positively with the prestin expression during postnatal development and in cultures exposed to T4 and RA (50-100 μM). The mRNA levels of the calcium-dependent TF CaRF correlates significantly with the prestin expression in cultures exposed to T4 and high KCl concentration. The observed coexpression patterns may suggest that the TFs Brn-3c, C/ebpb, and Carf contribute to regulating the expression of prestin under the investigated conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johann Gross
- Molecular Biology Research Laboratory, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
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Drozdov I, Tsoka S, Ouzounis CA, Shah AM. Genome-wide expression patterns in physiological cardiac hypertrophy. BMC Genomics 2010; 11:557. [PMID: 20937113 PMCID: PMC3091706 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-11-557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2010] [Accepted: 10/11/2010] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Genome-wide expression patterns in physiological cardiac hypertrophy. Co-expression patterns in physiological cardiac hypertrophy Results In this study, the first large-scale analysis of publicly available genome-wide expression data of several in vivo murine models of physiological LVH was carried out using network analysis. On evaluating 3 million gene co-expression patterns across 141 relevant microarray experiments, it was found that physiological adaptation is an evolutionarily conserved processes involving preservation of the function of cytochrome c oxidase, induction of autophagy compatible with cell survival, and coordinated regulation of angiogenesis. Conclusion This analysis not only identifies known biological pathways involved in physiological LVH, but also offers novel insights into the molecular basis of this phenotype by identifying key networks of co-expressed genes, as well as their topological and functional properties, using relevant high-quality microarray experiments and network inference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignat Drozdov
- King's College London (KCL) BHF Centre of Research Excellence - Cardiovascular Division - School of Medicine - James Black Centre - 125 Coldharbour Lane, London, UK
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